20 workers face doleafter Glenpark shock

A ventilation manufacturer and fitter at the Campsie-based, Glenpark Environmental Services Ltd., has spoken of his devastation after being told he and 19 colleagues face the dole in the mouth of Christmas after the company ceased trading last week.

The worker, who did not wish to be named, claimed the announcement “came totally out of the blue last week.”

Staff have expressed surprise at the sudden closure, given what they believed to have been signs of uplift over recent months.

Glenpark was not short of orders , the worker said.

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Among work the local firm had been completing was a contract with the Aberdeen Art Gallery for a major refurbishment of its premises in the North East of Scotland over recent months.

Bombardier was another well-known customer.

“We were stunned at the decision when informed. “We’ve lost our jobs yet things appeared to be going well with contracts in England and in Scotland,” the worker stated.

“We even received a pay rise a month ago and now this has happened which is certainly not ideal for Christmas,” he said.

The company, which operates from a unit at the old Courtaulds Plant in Campsie, was acquired in 2015 by the Dowds Group in Ballymoney.

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The firm appointed Gildernew and Co. Chartered Accountants and Business Advisors to assist the company directors in proposing a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) to its creditors after the business ceased trading this week.

Glenpark Managing Director James Dowds blamed a sluggish construction sector for the job losses.

He said the company had been loss-making and that management has been unable to turn that around.

“It is with the deepest regret that despite all our best efforts we have been unable to reverse the company’s loss making position,” said Mr Dowds.

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“Our biggest challenge has been the restriction of the local market for the company’s product due to a slower than expected upturn in the construction sector, and cost limitations in taking the product to export,” he added.

Mr Dowds said: “These are difficult times for everyone in business and I wish to pay tribute to our loyal and dedicated workforce whose commitment to the business and the quality of our product has been unwavering in the face of our mounting problems.

“They are a credit to themselves and I can only wish the very best for each of them in the future”.

Gildernew and Co. are currently in discussion with creditors and staff, who, it said, have been paid up to date and have been advised of their statutory redundancy entitlements.

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The closure marks the end of 30 years of production at the Campsie plant, which has been trading as Glenpark since June 1986.

The heating, ventilation and air-conditioning specialist, delivered full heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) design and installation services, in-house manufacturing, as well as installation and maintenance packages from its Campsie site, over the past three decades.

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