THERE is no longer any hope of attracting a new tyre manufacturer to take over the Semperit plant in Dublin, according to the Industrial Development Authority.
The last prospective buyer of the plant, the Cooper Tyre Company of Ohio in the US, has withdrawn from negotiations.
A new inter agency group has been set up by the IDA and the Department of Enterprise and Employment to seek alternative industries for the 16 acre site, where over 1,000 people were once employed.
However, former Semperit employees refuse to accept there is no future for the plant as a tyre factory. SIPTU representative Mr John Flannery, says there are plans to meet representatives of American Capital Strategies on January 9th to discuss plans for a buy out by employees.
"We don't want to build up false hopes," he says, "but we believe it is still possible to do this."
The discussions between representatives of the former workforce and ACS will be aimed at seeking potential investors and putting together a package that Semperit's owners, the German company Conti AG, will find attractive.
Conti had proposed moving the equipment to India, where it is involved in the Apollo project with an Indian tyre manufacturer in Kerala. However, the project has encountered delays and Mr Flannery hopes it can put a bid on the table for the Ballyfermot plant before the end of January.
"We have a committed workforce and a home management team that have run a profitable plant," he says. "A tyre manufacturing operation is still our best hope for providing employment to former members of the workforce."
The IDA has no doubt that it will be able to find new investors for the site, located near the new western link road. With industrial sites in the area fetching £140,000 an acre, it is also confident of recouping the £5 million owed to it by Conti when the site is sold. It has a lien on the property.
The agency is also confident that new investors will be found for the Packard site in Tallaght and the Tambrands plant near Tipperary town. Both companies closed earlier this year with the loss of 1,000 jobs. The IDA wants to retain the Packard site as one unit, to which it hopes to attract a large labour intensive manufacturing operation.
A spokesman for the IDA says the agency is hopeful that a new US investor will take over the Tambrands plant and provide up to 200 hi-tech jobs in the near future. Tambrands used to manufacture sanitary towels.
The IDA is also hopeful that a new buyer can be found for Youghal Carpet Yarns (YCY). Two companies, one Irish and one American, are understood to be interested in acquiring the plant, which employs over 300 people.
The SIPTU regional secretary for the south west, Mr John McDonnell, says it is important to keep the plant open because most of the workforce would have difficulty finding alternative employment.
Shaw Industries are selling the factory as part of an overall strategy to withdraw from the wool carpet sector. According to the IDA, the new owners are likely to retain over 200 of the existing workforce if the acquisition goes ahead.
Some of the older workers at YCY have 25 years service, says Mr McDonnell. While there are new industries opening in the Cork area, it is unlikely many Youghal employees would be taken on. "This is a situation where maintaining a viable industry is as vital to maintaining employment levels as opening new plants."