GP Wood was formed in April 2013 as a result of the merger of two of Irelands most successful and long established timber processing companies; the Grainger Group originally founded by William Grainger, based in Enniskeane, County Cork and the Palfab Group of Lissarda, founded by the O’Callaghan Family also based in County Cork. GP Wood is one of Ireland’s largest and most diversified timber processing operations.
Since the merger GP Wood is committed to investing €5 million in a range of initiatives including product enhancements.
GP Wood’s original companies were both established in 1977. The group employs approximately 150 staff with a further 250 indirect employees in their forestry operations. Timber manufacturing focused on the construction, fencing, garden leisure and packaging markets is the core business of the group. We operate two of Ireland’s largest and most technologically advanced sawmills. Both mills are located in West Cork, one in Lissarda and the other in Enniskeane. We have state of the art facilities for Kiln Drying, Machining and Timber Treatment. In 2005, the Group constructed Irelands first large scale commercial biomass CHP plant which was designed around the Enniskeane sawmill’s energy requirements. The plant produces 2.5 MW of electricity which is sold to the national grid, and 6 MW of thermal energy.
In addition to producing our own sawn products, we also import part-processed timber from Scandinavia, the Baltic States and mainland Europe. The company has diversified into added value markets through their joint venture investment in Eirebloc, manufacturers of pallet blocks from recycled timber.
The Directors of GP Wood are Niall Grainger, Donal O’Callaghan, Susan Grainger and Gerard O’Callaghan who all have wide-ranging experience in the timber processing sector.