Company Profile
History
White’s Cross, Cork. When two Irishmen started a plastic pipe company near Cork over forty years ago, they could have hardly imagined the eventual fruits of their enterprise. Today, Quality Plastics Limited is the leader in the plumbing market in Ireland with impressive export sales.
The two Irishmen were Garry Horgan and Michael Murphy. Their 50/50 partnership was set up to make PE pipes with seven employees in a small factory on the site of an existing plant in White’s Cross, Cork. The business expanded in the 70’s but economic conditions in the 80’s made it difficult to grow further.
Karen Horgan is General Manager and daughter of one of the original founders. She joined the business in 1992 as a graduate electrical engineer. “It was then a business of 45 people with five extrusion lines,” she explains. “One of the first projects we started was the development of our hot and cold business in the form of PEX pipes.”
“That part of our business has developed very well over the last 20 years since we first went on the market with these products in 1988. Our hot and cold business now includes PEX, PB and PERT pipes (in plain or barrier form) as well as several ranges of fittings that we supply with these pipes as a system. We have also developed a full underfloor heating system complimented with a design service that is regarded as being a leader in the industry.”
The new emphasis on plumbing has clearly paid off. International sales to the UK and mainland Europe in conjunction with other Pipelife companies are significant. “The products we supply are mainly our hot and cold range but we have also expanded our business in PE pipes (for water, gas and electrical ducting). Furthermore, we have extended our product portfolio for the home market and for the civil engineering market where we now sell a larger range of PVC pipes and fittings.”
The two Irishmen were Garry Horgan and Michael Murphy. Their 50/50 partnership was set up to make PE pipes with seven employees in a small factory on the site of an existing plant in White’s Cross, Cork. The business expanded in the 70’s but economic conditions in the 80’s made it difficult to grow further.
Karen Horgan is General Manager and daughter of one of the original founders. She joined the business in 1992 as a graduate electrical engineer. “It was then a business of 45 people with five extrusion lines,” she explains. “One of the first projects we started was the development of our hot and cold business in the form of PEX pipes.”
“That part of our business has developed very well over the last 20 years since we first went on the market with these products in 1988. Our hot and cold business now includes PEX, PB and PERT pipes (in plain or barrier form) as well as several ranges of fittings that we supply with these pipes as a system. We have also developed a full underfloor heating system complimented with a design service that is regarded as being a leader in the industry.”
The new emphasis on plumbing has clearly paid off. International sales to the UK and mainland Europe in conjunction with other Pipelife companies are significant. “The products we supply are mainly our hot and cold range but we have also expanded our business in PE pipes (for water, gas and electrical ducting). Furthermore, we have extended our product portfolio for the home market and for the civil engineering market where we now sell a larger range of PVC pipes and fittings.”
