100 Thurles jobs in firm's expansion

Waste management group AQS Environmental Solutions will create 100 jobs in Thurles, Co Tipperary, and invest €15 million in its new headquarters in the town.

The AQS headquarters will be based in the former BSN Medical factory, which closed last year with the loss of 80 jobs. The AQS jobs will be created in the company's environmental engineering, administration and general logistics operations and will include specialist lab technician posts and drivers.

AQS, which is part of the Arlo Group, said its business was rapidly expanding in what is a growth sector. AQS is currently located in Urlingford, Co Kilkenny, and most of the staff at that operation will transfer to the new site, with one part of the business remaining in the town.

The company provides drainage, environmental and waste management services to several local authorities, as well as to mining, pharmaceutical and food processing companies.

It also has clients in the retail, construction, aviation, power generation, agricultural and transport sectors.

AQS will be up and running at the Thurles site in October, while a recruitment drive will take place in two other Arlo Group subsidiaries, Acorn Recycling and JHL Sales, which will also be based in Thurles from next year.

Acorn specialises in the handling and treatment of organic wastes, while JHL Sales provides machinery to the environmental sectors in Ireland, Britain and the rest of Europe.

Arlo Group managing director Liam Kearney said the company, which currently employs 60 people, would have 100 staff by the end of the year and would take its workforce to 160 or more over the next 12 to 18 months.

The €15 million investment will primarily be used to purchase new equipment and convert the existing site.

The new headquarters will act as a national centre for the group's activities and would direct operations at its business hubs in Dublin, Limerick, Cork and internationally.