The longevity of companies has decreased dramatically in recent years in Ireland and around the world. Research by Professor Richard Foster, Yale University, has shown that the average lifespan of a US company listed in the Standard & Poor (S&P) 500 index has decreased by more than 50 years in the last century, from 67 years in the 1920s to just 15 years today. He maintains that by 2020, ‘more than three-quarters of the S&P 500 will be companies that we have not even heard of yet’.

So, when a company marks a century of trading in today’s fiercely competitive environment, it is a major event worth celebrating. Glennon Brothers, the Longford-based sawmill, has reached this unique milestone and last Thursday over 500 well-wishers from Ireland and overseas joined with the company to celebrate its 100th anniversary at a gala event in Croke Park.

Tributes were led by keynote speaker Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister of State with responsibility for forestry Tom Hayes. Both praised Glennon Brothers for its major contribution to the economy and job creation. They also acknowledged its resilience and innovation in developing into an export-led company.

Pat and Mike Glennon, joint managing directors of Glennon Brothers, used the occasion to thank stakeholders, especially staff, customers, hauliers and contractors in Ireland, Britain and France. “We have been lucky over the years to have customers who believed in us and were prepared to take a leap of faith that we could deliver,” said Mike Glennon. “We appreciate the risk that these people took in the early days of the relationship and we thank them for their support and continuous commitment to Glennon Brothers.” He said that their input was crucial to the success of the company and ‘the 500 families, in Ireland and Scotland, who depend on Glennon Brothers for their livelihoods’.

Pat Glennon remembered the people who built the company from a modest sawmill to a leading company in the Irish and British sawmilling industry, as well as a provider of timber frame homes and engineered roof trusses from its bases in Ireland and Scotland.

“Glennon Brothers has a legacy of great contributions from great people, some of whom are not with us today,” he said in an emotional speech.

“These people invested their blood, sweat and tears in the business over many years, through good times and through bad. Without the contribution of these people, Glennon Brothers would not have navigated its way through the many challenges it has faced over the last 100 years.”

Conscious of the opposition in the timber processing sector to the proposed Coillte/Bord na Móna merger, he reminded the government of its responsibility to the forestry and forest products sector.

“Having wisely decided not to sell off Coillte’s harvesting rights, the government now faces a critical decision in relation to the futures of Bord na Móna and Coillte,” he said.

“We urge all involved to remember the positive impact of the Irish forest products sector, which is worth €2.2bn to Irish economy, and supports 12,000 jobs, the majority of which are based in rural locations.”

Background

The mill was established in 1913 in Kilnasvogue outside Longford town by brothers, William and James Glennon, shortly after returning from the US.

This was a brave decision at the time as markets were depressed in Ireland and timber was scarce.

Exploitation of the few remaining woods reduced forest cover to less than 1% during World War I.

James returned to America after the mill was established while William continued to run the business until 1943, when he was succeeded by his son, Paddy, a hugely influential figure in Irish sawmilling and forestry.

Paddy began to transform the mill into a modern processing plant along with general manager Peter Wilson who joined Glennons in 1967. The company began its major expansion plans in Ireland from the late 1990s followed by its Scottish acquisitions from 2005.

Today, the Glennon Brothers Irish plants in Longford and Fermoy along with its Scottish mills — Windymains Timber and Adam Wilsons — supply the Irish, British and French markets with products for the construction, pallet wood and fencing industries. In addition, the company’s timber frame acquisitions in Ireland and Scotland provide timber frame homes and engineered roof trusses.

Denis Glennon has documented the story of Glennon Brothers in an excellent history Glennon Brothers – One Hundred Years a Growing. One of the most fascinating aspects of the book is how products and tree species have changed over the years. Innovation has been evident in the company from the beginning.

During the period 1913 to 1949, the company produced timber for table legs, tool handles, charcoal, hurleys, mining pit props and components for donkey and horse-drawn carts, including felloes, shafts, spokes and shafts. Species used then but no longer processed included oak, ash, elm, sycamore and poplar. Today, the company concentrates on providing timber for the construction, packaging and fencing markets, and residues for board mill production. Its Irish and British mills have a capacity of 450,000m3.

Its innovative approach to sawmilling and product development has been recognised in Ireland and Europe. The company was awarded the Ernst & Young Ireland Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2010 and earlier this year Glennon Brothers collected the coveted Ruband’Honneur in Istanbul, at the European Business Awards.