O’Keeffe Sawmills Ltd in Lismore, Co. Waterford enjoys a very healthy relationship with the local farming community as manager Bernard O’Keeffe explains.

Established in 1974, O’Keeffe Sawmills is a leading supplier of wooden pallets, boxes, crates, construction timber, timber decking, timber gates and fencing posts and rails to a wide range of customers throughout Ireland. While pallet manufacturing has been its core business for more than 20 years, the company provides a range of products to the agricultural sector. These include potato and vegetable boxes, animal bedding, gates and post and rail fencing.

In return, O’Keeffe Sawmills buys hardwood and softwood thinnings from local farmers which is sold as kindling and firewood by OK Fuel Supplies Ltd, which was set up as a sideline business by Bernard and his father Gerry in 2012.

“We have a lot of dealings with the farming community. They’re good customers of ours and we’re good customers of theirs,” Bernard proudly states.

“We supply them with products such as potato, cabbage and apple boxes, firewood boxes, sawdust and shavings for animal bedding and fencing posts and rails as well as pressure treated construction timber for erecting farm buildings, which comes in any length or size. And they supply us with thinnings for our fuel supplies business. It’s a two-way thing. A lot of farmers whose land mightn’t be suitable for tillage or grazing have turned to forestry in recent years and we’re delighted to be able to support them. All of the kindling and firewood is locally sourced, while the timber we use to manufacture our products comes from all over Ireland. We only use the best timber.”

O’Keeffe Sawmills produces a comprehensive range of quality potato and vegetable boxes to meet the demands of all sectors of the industry. Each box is manufactured with strength and longevity in mind and can be made to any size or specification.

“We have all the components ready to assemble and can make up to 100 boxes in a day,” Bernard continues.

Premium quality animal bedding is also produced for use in the farming and equine sectors. The high level of dryness of this material is revealed in its maximum absorbency and odour-neutralisation performance. The wood shavings come in baled form, while the sawdust is supplied in bulk bags of various sizes. O’Keeffe Sawmills has its own fleet of trucks and also uses outside hauliers to deliver products such as pallets, animal bedding, gates and fencing post and rails. Alternatively, they can be collected from the depot in Lismore.

The company offers a range of post and rail fencing for a variety of uses around the farm, garden or paddock. Manufactured from sawn native Irish softwoods, the post and rail timber fencing is competitively priced, easy to erect, ages well and is secure against stock.

“We stock everything from paddock stakes to creosote post and rail fencing, all of which are pressure treated and designed to last. Also, all of our gates are made to order,” he explains.

O’Keeffe Sawmills is a successful family-run firm which employs 18 full-time staff as well as a number of part-time. Founder Gerry O’Keeffe is nowadays joined in the business by his sons Bernard, Gerard and David, and brothers Martin and Joseph. The sawmill started out processing timber for roofing, farm buildings and post and rail fencing before diversifying into manufacturing timber pallets, boxes and crates.

One of the first companies in Ireland to purchase a semi-auto chomper firewood processor with financial assistance from the Waterford Leader Partnership, O’Keeffe’s specialise in both standard and off-standard size pallets made to customer’s specifications, and also supplies new and reconditioned pallets. They are registered with the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) to manufacture and supply kiln dried, heat treated pallets suitable for export to the US, Canada, New Zealand and China. In addition, the company holds an FSC certificate.

When Bernard was in school, he used to dabble in selling kindling and logs, and that has now evolved into a fully-fledged business which has gone from strength to strength over the past four years. The success of OK Fuel Supplies Ltd also means that the O’Keeffe’s are now cutting timber all-year round.

“Our work isn’t seasonal anymore. We have three firewood processors, two kindling machines for making the kindling and a kiln dryer. We hope to install a bigger kiln dryer before the end of the year to meet the demand for our kindling and firewood products. We’re constantly investing in new equipment and can produce an artic load of timber for firewood in a day. As well as kindling and firewood, we stock other solid fuels such as coal and have been blown away by the success of our fuel supplies business to date.”

Last year, OK Fuel Supplies began stocking products from CPL Fuels Ireland and this has added another string to its bow. The varied range of quality solid fuels available from CPL Fuels Ireland has been specially developed to meet the needs of homeowners, wherever their location, and whatever appliance they use. Each of their fuels is rigorously tested to ensure that it meets the high safety and performance standards that CPL Fuels demands.

In conclusion, Bernard wishes to thank all customers of O’Keeffe Sawmills for their continued support.

O’Keeffe Sawmills Ltd / OK Fuel Supplies Ltd

Deerpark Road,

Lismore,

Co. Waterford.

Telephone: 058 54040

Fax: 058 54161

Email: [email protected]

Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 5 No 6, September 2017

O’Keeffe Sawmills, OK Fuel Supplies