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SYNCREON, an Irish company which bought into a Clare concern in the 1990’s has bought a US group for $35 million.

Syncreon, a specialized provider of integrated logistics services and highly customized supply chain solutions to global industries, an- nounced today it has acquired NAL Worldwide Holdings, Inc. The terms of the transaction are not be- ing disclosed.

Syncreon was the name given to the new merged company, follow- ing Walsh Western International’s acquisition of TDS Logistics in March 2007.

One of the founders of Walsh Western is Drumline man Michael Enright who helped build the logis- tics company during the 90s, suc- cessfully tapping the development boom by supplying just-in-time materials to Irish plants of US com-

puter giants, Intel, Dell, Digital and Apple.

Enright sold the majority of the firm for €51 million in 1999 with the Enright family retaining a quar- ter of the business. Michael Enright is listed as Chariman of Syncreon while his son, Brian, is President and CEO.

Addison, IL-based NAL 1s a third- party logistics (3PL) and supply chain services company providing solutions to the telecommunica- tions, retail, hi-tech and healthcare industries. The transaction pro- vides Syncreon six additional US facilities, a national network of 150 service providers and more than 550 people.

In addition, this transaction strengthens Syncreon’s service of- fering and expands end markets served to include telecommunica- tions and retail.

NAL Worldwide had revenues of US$75 million in 2009 and had

been majority owned by Chicago based private equity firm Lake Capital. Brian Enright, said, “We are very pleased with this transac- tion. NAL considerably adds to our capabilities in the key US market and brings us access to new sec- tors, customers, capabilities and human talent.

This acquisition builds upon syn- creon’s core differentiator – flexible and customized solutions for our customers”.

Syncreon is a global contract logistics and supply chain man- agement company that uses its asset-light business model to pro- vide specialized transportation, inbound, outbound, and fulfillment logistics services.

These services are fully inte- grated into their customers’ supply chain and final end-client delivery. Syncreon is a global business with its operational HQ in Auburn Hills, MI.

Syncreon has activities in 20 countries, with over 50 facilities and approximately 9,000 employ- ees. Syncreon is owned by Irish businessmen Michael and Brian Enright and New York based pri- vate equity firm, GenNx360 Capi- tal Partners.

Walsh Western International, headquartered in Dublin, had been one of the fastest growing and most successful supply chain service providers in Europe.

Specializing in end-to-end lo- gistics and supply chain solutions, WWI provided a broad range of services that closely complimented those of TDS including fulfillment, reverse logistics, dynamic in-tran- sit merge and distribution, freight management and transportation so- lutions for the technology industry. W WI] established a strong presence in the electronic and technology sectors, servicing customers such as Dell, Epson, and HP.

Lifesavers lose out on funding

THERE was an upsurge in demand for support from St Vincent De Paul in Shannon in the run-up to Christ- jet kce

50 families in Shannon and Sixmi- lebridge requested support from the voluntary organisation.

Oil, coal, toys and food were among the demands of the people of Shan- non, who found it difficult to cope. Some families did not have enough money to buy toys for their children for Christmas and sought help from St Vincent De Paul with this. The poor economic climate, allied to the inclement weather, was a major fac-

tor in the increase in demand.

Christmas hampers and_ super- market vouchers were distributed to families in need in the run-up to Christmas, as the organisation did what it could to ease the plight of the poor.

Secretary of St Vincent De Paul in Shannon, Bridget Kirby said a lot of people were in financial difficulty this year.

“We were out until late on Christ- mas Eve. We helped 50 families. There was a huge increase in de- mand this year. People didn’t have the double money (social welfare) and they were really stuck. A lot of people lost their jobs and they

didn’t have toys for the children,’ she said.

Some parents are finding things so tough that they don’t have the money to pay for their children’s examina- tions.

“Parents don’t have enough mon- ey for the Junior Certificate or the Leaving Certificate. Parents don’t have money. It’s sad. There is a lot of poverty,” she added.

She paid tribute to the people of Shannon, who donated generously to the annual collection.

Some businesses donated toys, while individuals also donated mon- ey. Golf societies around Shannon also contributed to the fund, while

St Caimin’s Community School and St Patrick’s Comprehensive School helped out.

‘They were so good this year. Peo- ple were very, very generous. It was the best year we ever had. A lot of people gave us children’s clothes and we delivered those. We got a personal donation of €2,000 from one man. He said he had too much and felt sad for people who don’t have enough. That was the kind of thing that people did,” she said.

After a tough few months, St Vin- cent De Paul 1s predicting that 2010 will be equally challenging.

“It will be very tough this year,” said Ms Kirby.

THE coming year will see renewed efforts in Mountshannon to provide a second defibrillator for the village.

Already the community has man- aged to secure one life-saving device and this is now installed in its special security case on the wall of the pot- tery shop.

“We’d certainly like to get a sec- ond defibrillator and we’ll be work- ing towards that this year.’ said Jane Murray, one of the organisers of the committee effort which secured the

first defibrillator.

Twenty people are now fully trained in the use of the machine which could make the difference between recovery and a tragedy if someone experiences coronary problems.

The teams are on a rota which turns over every couple of weeks, with the emergegency phone (086-320997) being given to the person on duty.

Jane said the community is very pleased to have the defibrillator and to have a secure location for it.

But locals have proved so willing to train and do their part in protecting

lives that there could well be enough volunteers to warrant a second ma- chine. This could be kept at a dif- ferent location, making help close to hand wherever it is needed in the village.

Without any grants available, the community will be back on the fun- draising trail this coming year. “We will have to raise the money locally but people here are very genrous when it comes to something impor- tant,’ said Jane.

6,000 people a year die from sud- den cardiac death in Ireland. Two per

week will be under the age of thirty five.

The defibrillator provides a vi- tal link in the chain of survival as speedy combination of CPR and the defibrillator can often restore life which would otherwise be lost.

Statistically in Ireland, anyone whose heart stops has just a one in one hundred chance of surviv- ing. But if there is a cardiac first responder program in place involv- ing trained people using a defibril- lator, those odds are significantly INNO KeranNel ew

THE MULKEAR River in Clare is one of 50 rivers where anglers can legally enjoy fishing for salmon, ac- cording to regulations just approved.

But the permits to catch salmon come with a grim warning that their numbers are still under threat and that poachers are depleting stocks aUUmatbaseom

The Minister for Natural Resourc- es, Conor Lenihan TD, has approved a suite of regulations and bye-laws that will govern the wild salmon fish- ery in 2010. These came into effect on January |.

Under the regulations, salmon fish- ing will be permitted in the Mulkear and in neighboring Limerick in the River Feale.

The number of rivers in which a catch will be permitted is now 50, two more than last year. Four rivers which were closed to fishing in 2009 will be opened but two which were being fished – the Blackwater in Ker- ry and Glengariff in Cork – will now be closed to conserve stock.

Meanwhile scientists and officials in charge of the State’s inland fisher- ies say that poaching “has increased due to the recession” as people have more time on their hands and less money to spend on luxuries such as a0 (ecy-¥beslOyee

Fish conservationists are alarmed that poachers are ‘lamping’ salmon – using bright lights to stun them and spearing the spawning fish with

pitchforks.

The Regional Fisheries Boards have appealed to people to stop the prac- tice, which poses a “severe threat” to the future of salmon stocks and the tourism businesses which depend on Weloeen

Announcing the river openings, the minister said that 11] rivers are open only to angling on a ‘catch and re- lease’ basis because of the status of stocks. There are 80 rivers closed to fishing as salmon stocks are not meeting conservation limits. In re- gard to the scientific analysis of

salmon stocks, the minister said, “This reflects the persistent down- ward trend in marine survival which is pervasive throughout all the North Atlantic stock complexes as reported by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Significantly, Irish marine survival indices are at their lowest since records began in the 1980s and appear to be declining further.”

CLARE County Council has told Doonbeg Golf Club that it has con- cerns over the fact that its scaled down €2 million coastal protection plan may lead to other parts of the coastline adjoining the site becom- ing noticeably eroded.

The council concerns are high- lighted in a raft of new information sought by the planning authority about the golf club proposal.

The club is seeking approval for a protection plan for the most vulner- able sections of dune fronting the sixth tee and the fifth, 13th and 14th greens on the golf course.

A previous 2003 proposal was turned down by An Bord Pleanala and the golf club has now told the

council that if it does nothing, the dune system will be further eroded and this would be detrimental to the club’s viability.

The application states that “essen- tial parts of Doonbeg golf course re- main at high risk from severe coastal erosion during extreme storm events with a combined high waves and storm surge’.

Putting the plan on hold, the coun- cil stated, ““There are concerns that proposal may lead to a situation whereby other parts of the adjoin- ing coastline may become noticeably eroded, leading to a situation where further coastal protection works may be needed.”

The council has invited the golf club to submit any proposals it may have for further coastal management

work and has asked why a revised layout of the course hasn’t been ex- plored as an alternative erosion man- agement measure.

The council has also taken into account a submission from the De- partment of the Environment which states that the appropriate assessment screening does not take into consid- eration the potential effects of the development on the the Mid-Clare coast Special Protection Area (SPA) and its conservation objectives.

The department pointed out that the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) lodged with the application states that the proposal is unlikely to have significant effects on Carrow- more Dunes Special Area of Conser- vation (SAC).

“In reaching this conclusion, there

is no reference to the potential ef- fects on other plans and projects, in- cluding the existing golf course and associated developments and there 1s no reference to any impacts on the SPA and its conservation objectives.

“The impacts of reconfiguring parts of the golf course to facilitate the coastal protection works and the works involved, are not considered with respect to potential impacts on the SAC in particular and on habi- tats, flora and fauna in general,” the department submission concluded.

A decision is expected on the plan later in 2010.

A MAN in his 20s, arrested in con- nection with a robbery involving a knife in Shannon during Christmas, has been released without charge.

The alarm was raised after a man carrying a kitchen knife demanded money at an off-licence in Shannon on St Stephen’s Day.

The incident happened at the off- licence attached to the Crossroads Pub in Drumgeely at around 5.30pm

that evening. The man, who wore a scarf over his face, demanded mon- ey before making way with around €200 in cash.

A staff member and a customer were on the premises at the time. Although traumatised by the inci- dent, they did not sustain injuries.

Gardai have secured CCTV foot- age of the area and have viewed this as part of the investigation, while a forensic examination has been car- ried out at the scene. A man was ar-

rested in Shannon last Tuesday and was questioned at Shannon Garda Station.

He was later released without charge and a file is being prepared for the DPP, who will decide if charges are to be brought.

“The investigation is ongoing. Statements have been taken. CCTV has been secured and is being ex- amined in order to assist the identi- fication. A forensic examination has been carried out and we are await-

ing the results of that,” said a garda spokesman.

“We are appealing to witnesses who were in the area at the time to come forward,” said the spokes- ner Ob

Shannon Gardai can be contacted on 061 361212.

Meanwhile, gardai in Tulla are in- vestigating an incident in which an elderly woman was robbed of mon- ey over the Christmas.

Two people, posing as workers,

called to her door in Tulla village shortly before 6am last Wednesday, December 30, on the pretence that they were checking for flood-related TSS oh

While one of the two distracted the woman, the other searched the house and made way with what gardai are describing as a small sum of cash. The two people – a man and woman – are described as being in their 20s. Gardai in Tulla are investigating the incident.

THE Burren’s college is launching a new selection of courses this month from it’s base in Gort. Starting in early January, the Burren College of Complementary Therapy, is offering a host of courses on complementary therapies in a number of different skill levels.

The college is being run by Enid McAleenan, who is accredited by International Therapy Examination Council (ITEC) and has been prac- ticing in the field locally and in Dub- lin for a number of years.

“What I am really doing 1s courses in complementary therapy and there are a lot of thing that come in under that banner – from holistic massage,

anatomy, physiology, aromatherapy, hot stone therapy, dietary and nutri- tion,’ said Enid.

“I get a variety of different people coming along to these courses. I get people who are interested in holistic therapies for a number of different reasons – some people are just drawn to it for themselves while others are interested in setting up some practice for themselves from their home, and maybe making some extra money out of it. Most people come for the foundation course and that is really the basics for a number of other com- plementary therapies.”

Complementary therapies have become much more popular in re- cent years with lay people and some mainstream medical practitioners.

“This is complementary therapy and not alternative medicine. I think GPs, doctors and nurses are starting to look at different ways that people can look after their health more and more,’ continued Enid.

“Somebody who is attending the doctor for a wide variety of com- plaints may now be referred to peo- ple like me for therapy. It’s just an- other way of dealing with a problem – about looking at things through not totally medical eyes and thinking about other ways to treat a situation. I think people are looking at ways to take a little more control of their own health.

“People are starting to get more open-minded about it and in the past I have worked side by side with GPs

in treating conditions in different ways. This is about working with more mainstream medical practi- tioners. It’s not alternative, it’s not instead of them, it’s about working with them and enhancing the overall treatment for patients.”

Funding is also available for unem- ployed people to take courses at the college. For more information on all of this contact the Burren College of Complementary Therapy on 091 633878 or check out www.burren- courses.com.

ENNIS’S reputation as one of the cleanest towns in Ireland took a hit yesterday when it tumbled 42 places in the latest Irish Business Against Piro mOlsyaN Relais

Ennis was listed in second place in last June’s survey but has since fallen to 46th position, from a sta- tus of ‘clean to European norms’ to ‘moderately littered’ in IBAL’s final results for 2009. Shannon has leap- frogged Ennis to become Clare’s ti- diest town, according to IBAL.

Shannon rose to 20th place and 1s described in the report as “Clean to European Norms’.

IBAL’s report for Shannon stated: “Half of the sites surveyed in Shan- non were clean to European norms, with the remainder ‘moderately lit- tered’. Some of the top ranking sites included Ballycasey Business Park, Bothar Mor approach and Bothar an Aerphort approach. Newmarket-on -Fergus road approach just missed getting the top litter grade. The town centre was moderately littered and care needs to be taken to ensure it doesn’t deteriorate.

The report looked at ten areas in Ennis and was particularly critical of the town’s approach roads.

The report stated, “There has been a very significant drop in the per- formance at Ennis since our previ- ous survey. Being clean is a 365-day responsibility for the local authority. Five of the sites surveyed in Ennis were clean to European norms but it was let down by two very poor sites – the Department of Social Welfare was a litter blackspot – clearly it has been completely neglected for quite Se) seem BDO tome

The report added, “The link road at

Citroen / Camus Garage to Cahercal- la Road had a serious litter problem – it was the worst of all the approach routes which were surveyed coming into Ennis.”

However, speaking yesterday, May- or of Ennis, Frankie Neylon (Ind) rejected IBAL’s assessment, saying IBAL should look at Ennis’s track record in Tidy Towns competition.

Town Clerk, Eddie Power told yesterday’s meeting of Ennis Town

Council that half of the areas sur- veyed in Ennis were found to be clean to European norms.

“It’s hard to accept their comments because they don’t stand up to scru- tiny,” he said.

However, Cllr Brian Meaney (GP) said Ennis’s fall illustrated a “real credibility” in IBAL’s ratings sys- c0e8

He said the council should look at the survey as constructive criticism.

He told the meeting that approach roads to Ennis are “a mess of rub- bish”’.

“Anybody who walks around Ennis will see that. It’s people who are go- ing around and dumping rubbish. It’s a substantial problem,” he said

Cllr Meaney praised the work done by the council’s environmental war- dens and added that it was “vital we identify the wholesale dumping of rubbish by an underclass’. He said

people who engage in illegal dump- ing should receive jail sentences.

Combatting council low on true grit