fwpn.org - Launch of GMIT Furniture and Wood Products Network

Launch of GMIT Furniture and Wood Products Network

PRESS RELEASE Tuesday 30^thMay 2006 dscf4748

Michael Hannon, Head of Centre at GMIT Letterfrack launching the Furniture and Wood Products ACCEL Project on the 30th May 2006.

The official launch and opening seminar of the new GMIT Furniture and Wood Products Network and ACCEL project took place in GMIT today, Tuesday, 30th May.

The Furniture and Wood Products Network (FWPN) is a GMIT initiative for the furniture and wood products industry.The Network’s mission is to provide ways for members to work together to achieve their business goals. The network was formed earlier this year in response to ongoing demand for such an organisation - the catalyst being the securing of ACCEL funding to provide a strategic training and development programme for the industry.

The ACCEL Project is currently the main focus of the FWPN. The network activities will develop further to provide a range of benefits for its members such as group insurance, training courses, research & development projects, business opportunities, industry portal, e-forums & discussion groups, online community and building partnerships.

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From left to right: Dr. Patrick Tobin GMIT, Rachel Gaffey ACCEL and Séamus Maguire.

Dr. Patrick Tobin, GMIT Letterfrack, has been leading the development of the network with an advisory group that includes:

Jim Hoey, Managing Director, Masonite Ireland

David Crowley, Managing Director, David Crowley Furniture

Joe Friel, Business Development Manager, Castlebrook Furniture

Paul Farrell, Operations Director, Farrell Office Furniture

Michael Hannon, Head of Centre, GMIT Letterfrack

John Fitzgerald, Managing Director, Fitzgeralds of Kells

Peter Brennan, Development Advisor, Enterprise Ireland, and

Sean Ryan, Managing Director, Galtee Wood Products.

The opening seminar on the subject ‘Competitive Strategy for Furniture and Wood Products Manufacturers’ commenced at 9.00am today, followed by the launch at 3.30 pm. The seminar included a very innovate method of delivery that utilised the latest in video conference technology available at GMIT to allow SME’s from the United States take part in a discussion forum with their Irish counterparts. The video conference was very successful and set out the focus for the Network and the ACCEL project to provide furniture and wood product manufacturers with innovative method of delivering training, through the use of distance learning methods that are utilising the latest technology available.

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Video conference session with American Furniture and wood Products SME's

Speaking at the launch today, Dr Tobin said: “This is the first initiative of its kind in the furniture and wood products industry in the country. Its success will depend on the members’ input. Currently there are 30 but we expect this number to increase.

“The first seminar today was very successful. It included a video conference with a group of similar SMEs in the United States. We had a wide-ranging discussion and compared issues and challenges there (US) and here, such as competition, imports, environmental issues, design & customer service and innovation. Already it is proving fruitful.” added Dr Tobin.

The recently appointed project manager for the GMIT Furniture & Wood Products Network is Séamus Maguire. (Update: As of Jan 2007 Peter Butler has replaced Séamus Maguire as project manager for the GMIT Furniture & Wood Products Network) Further information is available on the Network web site at www.fwpn.org.

The project receives funding from ACCEL, which is an initiative of the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment and is managed by Skillnets Services Ltd on its behalf. The ACCEL programme supports the training of people in employment (in-company training).

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