Woodfit secures €1.5m contract in Saudi Arabia

Athlone-based company Woodfit Ltd has secured a €1.5m contract to help build a university in Saudi Arabia. The lucrative contract was officially announced yesterday (Tuesday) during an Enterprise Ireland trade mission to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates led by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation Batt O’Keeffe. The €1.5m deal is for part of the construction of Princess Noura University, an all-women’s campus initiated by King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. Speaking to the Westmeath Independent from Saudi Arabia yesterday, Athlone native and General Manager of Woodfit Ltd, Jason Larkin, said the company had been working for several months to land this contract. “We’re delighted to secure a project of this nature. It’s a huge relief to people back home to get something like this, and we can now see that there is a market overseas which will help to secure our business in the years to come,” he said. Woodfit currently employs 28 people at its premises on the Moydrum Road, Athlone, and Mr Larkin said it was expected that additional staff would be taken on as a result of work in Saudi Arabia and other countries. It is a testament to all involved that a small Irish company can box above their weight and achieve success in such a vibrant and exciting market.” “Saudi Arabia is a key growth market for Irish exports. Contracts such as this one secured by Woodfit are hard won and demonstrate the world-class standard of Irish products,” said Mr Ryan. “Woodfit is a prime example of what Irish companies can achieve globally through market-led innovation. He stated that the market for contracts of this kind in the Middle East was extremely competitive and he paid tribute to Enterprise Ireland for the assistance it had provided to the company. The building of the university has been described as the largest construction project in the world, with 125,000 people working daily on the site. Woodfit, a joinery company which manufactures specialist acoustic and non-acoustic timber panelling, has worked on a number of high-profile projects in Ireland including the Wexford Opera House and the Marine Institute in Galway. Minister O’Keeffe described the Saudi contact as “a significant win for an ambitious, outward-focused Irish firm.” The Minister stated: “Woodfit has shown how a small Irish firm can win a prestigious international contract by tailoring high-quality innovative product lines to specific customer demands. I would urge other Irish construction firms to follow Woodfit’s example in securing business in the Middle East-North African region so that we can strengthen our indigenous enterprise backbone.” Enterprise Ireland CEO Frank Ryan said the contract showed that “a small Irish company can box above their weight.”