1995 profits at Cavan Crystal are expected be in excess of I 500,000 and the Irish company is to invest more than I 1 million in a new visitors“ centre, aimed at attracting more tourists to the facto…
1995 profits at Cavan Crystal are expected be in excess of I 500,000 and the Irish company is to invest more than I 1 million in a new visitors“ centre, aimed at attracting more tourists to the factory in Cavan. The giftware company was bought out of receivership in August 1995 by a US and Irish based consortium after incurring substantial losses over the previous 10 years. The sale price was never revealed but it is understood to be just under I 5 million. Cavan“s chairman and principal shareholder, Mr. Neil McKay, said that the company“s 1995 sales are expected to total around I 2.3 million. Its best ever sales figures were in 1994 when the figures reached I 1.8 million. It is understood that margins in the crystalware sector are around 40% and Cavan hopes to double its sales over the next three to four years. According to Mr. McKay, Cavan is targeting the US and has received a very good reaction to recent promotions there. He expects crystal sales in the US to have contributed US$ 1 million (I 639,000) in 1995, up from a previous best of US$ 240,000 (I 152,000). The domestic market will continue to be important, however, and Cavan will also focus on the UK market. The firm“s main task is to stabilise and to grow. “Up until October last there was no guarantee the company would survive,” points out McKay. It is concentrating on producing a new range of designs and will not aim at the cheaper end of the crystal market. The company expects to employ another 15 people once the visitors“ centre is complete. The centre will include a heritage centre, a new design department, a glass museum and a genealogical centre. Cavan currently employs 55 people but this is set to rise to 75 by the end of 1996. Mr. McKay said he would expect that the number employed will increase to over 100 by the end of 1997. Mr. McKay was unsuccessful in his attempt to acquire Tyrone Crystal, a company for which Belleek China was also a bidder. The Belleek bid ended in acrimony and Tyrone was later the subject of a management buyout.