Panel Duct, a company which won the top prize at the InterTradeIreland Innovation awards last year is now in the final stages of fitting out a 40,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Castlebar. The company, founded by Pat Walsh, managing director of Panel Duct Ireland, has taken over a premises on the Breaffy Road and has support from Enterprise Ireland to provide 20 immediate jobs with the potential for a five fold growth in the coming three years to 100 jobs.
The innovative design comprises a globally patented flat-pack ducting system which lends itself to global distribution that can be assembled within minutes on site. It is a robust engineering solution that eliminates two of the three stages involved in the installation of traditional systems, dramatically cutting costs in terms of time, wages, and transport.
Speaking about the announcement Pat Walsh said: "I first struck upon the idea several years ago and set about bringing it to reality. With the arrival of a research and development team the project finally became a commercial reality. The firm has already been involved in many large building projects nationally and internationally with Tesco, Ashford Castle, Dunnes Stores, and a substantial data centre in Sweden to name but a few. We are very happy to be locating our manufacturing facility in Castlebar and look forward to continued expansion as we set our sights on the UK and Global market."
Speaking about the announcement An Taoiseach Enda Kenny said: "I want to pay tribute to Pat Walsh and his team for what they have achieved here. To establish a manufacturing facility of this size in Mayo and bring a vision like Panel Duct to a commercial reality takes hard work and resilience. I have no doubt that they will continue to grow and become a strong part of the business community in Castlebar."
In conjunction with it facility in Castlebar Panel Duct is also announcing market expansion into the UK. This will increase demand for the product being manufactured in Castlebar. The ductwork market in the UK is currently estimated at UK£300m that Panel Duct has targeted with its patented range of pre-insulated ducting products which are being manufactured in the new 40,000sq ft Castlebar facility. According to Brian Mulhare, Panel Duct sales director, the company has experienced an unprecedented response from all players in the construction industry in Britain, but in particular from consulting engineers and architects who have already began specifying Panel Duct for their projects.
