More than 100 workers are likely to lose their jobs in Lurgan, Co Armagh, following the appointment of a receiver at textile printing company Clendinning's. The company said it had decided to put the company into receivership because of a dramatic fall in its order book, and because there was no prospect of any improvement before the end of the year.
In a statement, company chairman Mr Bill Baird said that the market could not provide the volume of printing needed to keep the firm viable. An Industrial Development Board spokeswoman said the board had been working with Clendinning's for the past year in efforts to save the company.
"However," she said, "due to the general downturn in demand for commission textile printing, and little prospect of long-term viability, the directors took the decision to ask the bank to appoint an administrative receiver."
Local T&GWU branch chairman Mr Tommy Coleman, who is also a Clendinning's employee, said that the workforce had been disappointed, but not surprised, by the news.
"The company has been under pressure for the past three years," Mr Coleman said. "The number of shifts has been reduced from three a day to one, and there have been around 40 redundancies since the beginning of this year alone."
"When we lost another couple of UK contracts earlier this year, we knew that the writing was on the wall," he continued. "The management have done what they could to bring in new business, but we can't compete with the prices offered by some of our overseas competitors."
Mr Coleman said that because of the lack of orders, he thought it unlikely that the receiver would be successful in finding a buyer for the company.
The imminent closure of Clendinning's is just the latest blow to the Northern Ireland clothing and textiles sector, which has been badly hit by the strength of sterling and by cheaper labour costs in eastern Europe, north Africa, and the Far East. It is also a blow to Lurgan, which in February last year was badly hit by the closure of the Saracen clothing factory, a subsidiary of Coats Viyella, with the loss of 500 jobs.
Meanwhile, the strength of sterling has been blamed for the loss of 70 jobs at Pritchitts Dairy in Newtownards, Co Down. The redundancies followed an internal review which showed that the company needed to reduce its operating costs if it was to remain competitive.
According to manufacturing director Mr Colin Coffey, the restructuring at Pritchitts, which employs around 240 people, will affect all levels of the company. Most would be achieved through natural wastage, and a programme of voluntary redundancies.
