Manufacturers are so concerned about plans to abolish de-rating for their sector that they are joining together to lobby to see this plan eradicated before its planned phased implementation date in 2005. They believe that if rates are imposed on an under-pressure manufacturing sector that it will signal the death knell for many factories.

    In Fermanagh, manufacturing has received some heavy knocks over the last decade. More than 1,000 jobs have been lost and a one thriving textile industry is in tatters.

    The margins for the average manufacturer in Fermanagh are tighter – with higher corporation tax, electricity and insurance costs to deal with than competitors just a matter of miles away across the Border and in England.

    Last week Fermanagh manufacturers met with a pressure group set up to try to get the Government to change its mind over plans to abolish de-rating. The Northern Ireland Manufacturing Focus Group says that up to 30,000 jobs could be lost over the next 10 years because of the government’s intentions. The group describes the decision to impose rates as the biggest threat to manufacturing in 30 years.

    Belleek Pottery was one of the major Fermanagh employers to be represented at the Focus Group meeting.

    Mr. Arthur Goan, Group Operations Director for Belleek Pottery, agrees with other manufacturers in the call for the government to re-examine the issue again. “Certainly from a cost point of view it would impact very seriously on Belleek. It would impose a very, very high cost. It is just going to make manufacturing so much more uncompetitive,” he said.

    Having acquired Donegal Parian China in recent years, Belleek now has a presence in the south. Would rates force Belleek to look across the Border to manufacture there? “It is not something we would actively consider right now but with a move like that, it is something we could be forced to investigate. “We would not necessarily look down south. One thing we would be looking at is how competitive are we in comparison to our partners in the Republic of Ireland and our partners on the mainland. At the end of the day that is who we are competing with. We have a very, very expensive manufacturing base as it is here because of where we are located. We have higher electricity costs, higher insurance and now de-rating,” he said.

    Companies manufacturing in the south have a much more competitive edge than manufacturers here and thus return more profit for re-investment, marketing and capital development.

    Mr. Goan said that it was up to Government to help to ensure that the manufacturing base remains competitive.

    The prospect of de-rating is a cloud on the horizon for Belleek Pottery, a company which has seen its fortunes improve in recent months. The workforce returned to a five-day week in June this year, a positive development that can be partly attributed to the success of Belleek Living, a contemporary range of home accessories. The group has moved into direct retail in shopping centres across Northern Ireland. As well as setting up its own store in Debenhams in Belfast, a shop in Erneside in Enniskillen was also launched last week. A store in Debenhams in Derry is to open in a couple of weeks’ time. It is hoped that the already contemporary ranges will be expanded.

    In the meantime, the hope at Belleek is that the Government will do a re-think on the entire issue, through lobbying by politicians such as the former MLAs Tommy Gallagher and Sam Foster who attended the meeting last week.

    Mr. Liam McCaffrey, Chief Executive of the Quinn Group based at Derrylin, said that de-rating would be one more factor that would make manufacturing in Northern Ireland less competitive. “We already have the discrepancy in corporation tax between Northern Ireland and the south of Ireland and specifically with the quarry industry over the last year we have had the aggregates tax,” he said. It would make the south a more appealling location for manufacturers to locate, he said.

    However, he pointed out that the situation could change and possibly at a later date, the south may become less attractive place for manufacturing. Quinn Group has manufacturing facilities at both sides of the Border, at Derrylin in County Fermanagh and at Ballyconnell in County Cavan.

    Plans for further expansion by the Group continue – one manufacturing facility in Cavan and the other in England. The group is to invest 12 million euro in building facilities to process polyurethane in Ballyconnell. “Polyurethane is an insulation product and with a recent change in regulations in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, it will be an increasingly popular production terms of heat retention and warmness of buildings,” explained Mr. McCaffrey. The group also plans to invest £120 million in a new glass factory in north west England, which will have the capacity to both manufacture and fill bottles.