Denis Doogan
Cornfields
Snailwell Road
Chippenham
Ely
Cambridgeshire
CB7 5QB
2nd December 2012
I
was employed by Quinn Group for 26 years. During that time I held various
positions across many different divisions of the Company. My final position was
as Director and CEO of the Quinn Radiator division. I resigned from this
position in July 2011, 3 months after the imposition of the current guardians.
I
believe that I am the only ex Quinn director who is not the subject of a
gagging clause inserted in a settlement agreement and as such thought it
appropriate to provide my opinion on matters.
I
think it is important and very relevant at this time to know and understand the
reasons for my resignation in the context of the direction the Company has
taken in the interim period.
Quinn
Group was a Company which succeeded based on a long term knowledge and care for
the industries it supplied and operated within, it succeeded based on the
corporate vision of Sean Quinn and his family and also succeeded based on the
mutual respect between the Quinn family and all its staff & customers. A quite significant part of that respect was
founded on the Quinn loyalty to continuous progression and investment in the
locality in which the business was born, the same locality that we meet in
tonight and the same locality that faces an imminent threat to its prosperity
or at worst its survival.
My
initial fundamental concerns during the 3 months up to my resignation were as
follows:
When
Anglo Irish Bank or those appointed on its behalf took over the company, I had
a very real concern for its future. It wasn’t necessary in the
first instance…… a comprehensive
and independently approved solution to re-pay the debt was presented by Quinn
Group but it was ignored. This solution has never been explored or reported on
by the media or recognised by financial commentators in this country. Why not?
Whatever
the extent of the debt, Anglo Irish Bank never could recover one cent from the
takeover of Quinn Group. The bondholders would ensure no payback for
Anglo. Why then take over the Company?
Due
to the intricate involvement of numerous other stake holders it has never been
clear who actually owns Quinn Group at this time? Is it IBRC? Is it the bond-holders? Is it
someone else? Can our public representatives explore this on behalf of worried
employees, local citizens and tax-payers?
Subsequent
to my initial concerns I remained in my role for a period of 3 months. In that time I was one of a group of
directors, some from the existing Quinn Group and some others who had been
drafted in as a result of the takeover. We had responsibility for the continued
success of the Company. I resigned
because it became abundantly clear to me that the principles of the Company
which I referred to at the outset, knowledge of the industry, respect for staff
and customers and the vision of our Chairman no longer existed. Our knowledge
of the industry and products was replaced by an obscene outlay of Company funds
used to pay consultants & professionals for advice to a new team of senior
managers and directors who bizarrely have came from every background apart from
construction or construction products.
If the employers of these people were serious about survival or
progression in a tough business, survival in a business where experience and
insight is paramount, would one expect
to rely more than ever on the experience which existed within the Company or at
least expect the arrival of more aligned executives?
I
had grave concerns for the survival of existing Quinn Group Directors and
Senior Management. Sadly those concerns have since been realised. I was present on numerous occasions and on
one particularly notable occasion when many of the still active Directors,
along with some of those axed at the time of takeover, were referred to by our
new chiefs in the most derogatory terms.
It is no surprise to me that in the 18 months since my resignation 17 of
those Directors and Senior Managers are gone.
The
list is shocking including;
1.
Cement Plant Manager (Cavan based) sacked
2.
Quarry Manager (Fermanagh based) sacked Merriott Radiator
Manager (Cavan based) sacked and now subject of industrial tribunal hearing.
3.
I.T Manager (Cavan based) sacked
4.
Health and Safety Manager (Cavan based) sacked
Termination
agreements were put in place with numerous other Directors and senior
personnel, incidentally all local people, on the basis they depart from the
Company and that they remain silent regarding Company affairs. It would be an interesting exercise for our
local representatives to understand the reasons and rationale behind these
departures.
Collectively
450 years of industry and manufacturing experience has been obliterated.
What
is more ludicrous is that these individuals had delivered sector-leading
profits for decades. Why are they gone?
Not a single replacement comes from this locality!
Furthermore,
the original Directors who remain in the Company have been forced to stand down
from their positions as Directors. As a result these individuals no longer have
sight of or sign off on accounts, nor do they have any input on decisions
regarding redundancies or Company closure. These decisions are now totally in
the hands of people with no connection to this region.
Today
the most senior management / Director roles for Quinn Group are based in a
Dublin office. Is this likely to be efficient? As someone with a quarter of a
century experience in the business I would say it is impossible. Is it a sign of serious commitment to the
business? Is it a sign of a regime dedicated to our locality and it’s continued
success? Absolutely not! Is anyone in a
prominent position asking this question?
In
recent weeks we are aware of job losses across the Quinn Group. These job losses are real and despite counter
claims by current Quinn Group Management the fact remains that these jobs are
gone. The fact that a head count may
remain similar is due to the increase in numbers of high level appointments and
most alarmingly large numbers of security personnel. This is not sustainable, clarity must be
sought by those in a position to do so on the counter claims made by Quinn
Group in recent times regarding specific job losses and also on the actual
changes in staffing since their takeover.
It must be sought and explained because I believe it will make stressful
reading for many in this locality.
I
personally had concerns from an early stage in relation to the Quinn Group customer
base, the lack of confidence from those customers in the future of the company
and the impact that the change may have on the future of their own businesses.
Many of those customers resented dealing with any Anglo-based enterprise. They
were mainly family businesses who supported and trusted another family
business. A large group of these customers recently sent a letter, containing
their concerns, to Invest NI & Enterprise Ireland. This seems to have been
ignored completely. I listened to their views first hand and my own concerns
were compounded by the arrogant attitude of new management towards those
customers. It is no surprise that in
recent times Quinn Group have ceased to supply bulk cement, always an anchor
product for the Company, to the largest user in Fermanagh and the largest user
in Tyrone. These are the most prominent examples but not the only ones. It is
likely others will follow. In an attempt
to maintain output levels, Quinn Group now export bulk Cement to South of
England. Whilst the market price in both
areas is similar, the haulage distance is multiplied by 15 at least. Is this sustainable? Does this make any
sense?
Let
no one be under any illusion as to where we are descending. When the decision
was taken to remove Quinn Insurance and Quinn Group from the control of Sean
Quinn, the dawn of one of the greatest cover ups in the history of the Irish
Republic had arrived. This cover up has
seen the persecution of Sean Quinn and his family over the last 2 – 3 years in an
attempt to deflect the focus away from a failed banking system and a failed
regulatory system. However, the vendetta
against Sean Quinn has now become a vendetta against the people of this region,
and is gradually impacting upon us all.
We have seen how we are labelled in the media.. Are we going to accept this situation? Most
importantly are those who represent us going to accept what’s happening? I think you have been silent for too long
already, it is time to represent the people who put you where you are.
In
summary, it is imperative that a way is found to deliver the management of
Quinn Group back to local individuals who genuinely care about the long term
prosperity of this region. We must find
a way to open discussions on this and unveil a way forward. The Quinn business
has been a blessing to this area for 40 years and never was a blessing more
needed than today. Any area in our
country would celebrate having something remotely similar and would fight tooth
and nail for its future.
We
can’t sit idly by and
watch its demise. We need to secure its
position, not for 1 or 2 years but for the next 40 years and beyond. I think
this long term interest is only important and will only come from the people
who are accused of being “blindly loyal”. Yes we are loyal and have every reason to
be. No we are not blind; we are fully
sighted and extremely concerned for our future.
Denis
Doogan.
Denis
Doogan
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