A new Irish drinks brand has bought a disused Tipperary Water plant for €3m
Oscar Wilde Water will create up to 100 new jobs at the facility in Borrisoleigh.
OSCAR WILDE WATER has purchased a disused bottling site in Borrisoleigh, Co Tipperary, in a €3 million deal.
The former Tipperary Water plant, which was owned by drinks giant C&C, had been shut down in 2016.
Oscar Wilde Water said that it will commence production at the site with immediate effect, creating up to 100 new jobs for the area over the next two years.
The company’s CEO John Hegarty said that the 4,600 sq m plant will help the business to “significantly expand” both its product range and output volume.
The plant has the capacity to produce up to 250,000 bottles each day, which the firm will use to boost exports and launch a range of tonic water and flavoured beverages.
Oscar Wilde Water was founded in 2015 and supplies still and sparkling glass-bottled water to hotels and restaurants across Ireland. The company posted losses of more than €55,000 in 2016, according to its most recent accounts.
Plant closure
Drinks company C&C, which produces brands such as Bulmers cider, closed manufacturing at the Borrisoleigh bottling plant more than two years ago, leading to the loss of 134 jobs.
Production was moved to the group’s larger plant in Clonmel in an effort to cut costs in the “intensely competitive” market.
C&C had acquired Borrisoleigh in 2014 as part of its €12.4 million purchase of M&J Gleeson – the manufacturer of Tipperary Water and Finches soft drinks.
Speaking about the sale of the plant today, Tom McCusker, managing director of C&C Group Ireland, said that the company is “delighted to see the continuation of water production in Borrisoleigh and the significant number of jobs that will be created in the town”.
He added that C&C will support Oscar Wilde Water through a new wholesale agreement.
