Years IN busINess

Mid Cork Pallets and Packaging (MCP) are celebrating their 45th anniversary this year, having grown to become one of the country’s leading suppliers of pallets, packaging and storage solutions. We sit down with its Founder and Managing Director to learn the secrets to its success.

From humble beginnings with a single warehouse, repairing second hand pallets in the Mid Cork region of ireland, Mid Cork Pallets & Packaging (MCP) were established in 1978 by its founder Johnny lehane and are now celebrating 45 remarkable years in business.

Having become specialists in the pallet repair industry, MCP quickly expanded into pallet manufacturing. “ireland was a very different place back then where pallets were primarily manufactured by hand,” recalls Johnny. “Following successive year on year growth, we were one of the first companies in ireland to commission an automated pallet manufacturing machine.”

Back in the 1990s, the manufacturing industry in ireland was booming and MCP invested in a second pallet manufacturing machine to keep up with demand. the intervening years have proven so successful that MCP are delighted to announce that they will be commissioning their third custom-built, leading-edge pallet manufacturing machine this summer, which will increase their capacity and range and allow MCP to better serve their customers.

“it never ceases to amaze me how far our company has come,” smiles Johnny. “i still remember the first pallet repaired or the first pallet manufactured, and now we have become ireland’s leading manufacturer and distributor of kiln dried and heattreated pallets, ePal pallets, second-hand pallets, and custom crates for the food and beverage, pharmaceutical, medical devices, dairy, and general manufacturing industries.” as the business grew, MCP saw an opportunity to expand their reach and better serve their customers and set up a hub on the outskirts of dublin in dunboyne, Co. Meath, in 1989.

“our success over the last four and a half decades wouldn’t have been possible without the support of our loyal staff and customers,” Johnny maintains. “our experienced staff engage with our customers’ evolving needs to provide them with expert advice, quality products, and reliable delivery, all combined with excellent customer service. Whether they need new or second-hand pallets, shipping crates or corrugated packaging, or even storage solutions, we’re here to help.”

Continuing the entrepreneurial spirit, MCP diversified their operations, expanding steadily into the supply of customised packaging solutions. today, MCP offer a complete service to their customers, including full design and prototyping service for specialised packaging and corrugated boxes, including drinks, food, e-commerce, medical packaging and much, much more – equating to over 10,000 different packaging products!

the company’s packaging division has grown substantially in recent years, as aidan Harty, Managing director of MCP, explains: “MCP has grown to become one of ireland’s leading packaging companies, offering hands-on design, prototyping, and expert advice through to producing engaging, unique packaging solutions.”

“our independence has fueled our growth over the years,” stresses aidan. “We have a large network of approved and certified suppliers for each product and can source each packaging product from a number of these. therefore, we handle the entire manufacturing process, storage and warehousing, as well as stock management and distribution, which streamlines our customers’ supply chain.”

as a complementary service, MCP now also offer storage solutions to their customers. “as a result of a booming food and drinks industry in ireland, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic, food and drinks companies needed to expand their operations and as a result, MCP were able to facilitate our customers’ additional storage needs,” aidan explains. “We can now store and distribute our customers’ products as required, and offer this service to both new and existing customers from our two strategically located sites in Cork and Meath, where we can offer fast, efficient delivery throughout ireland, both north and south.”

Having recently completed a new storage warehouse with industry-leading facilities, MCP are now in the process of constructing another three brand new warehouses at both their sites to further expand and enhance their product offering. Bringing added peace of mind for their customers, MCP are iso 9 001:2015 accredited to manufacture pallets and repair wooden pallets, boxes and packaging assembly; heat treat pallets to isPM 15 standards; and are BrCgs certified to an aa standard for the storage and distribution of food grade and non-food grade packaging. puttIng sustaInabIlIty FIrst the innovations at MCP don’t just stop with pallets, packaging or storage; this multifaceted company is also a green energy manufacturer, not only for their own operations on-site but also to power the energy of over 1,200 houses. a sister company to MCP and built on the grounds of their Clondrohid, Co. Cork site, Cork green energy was commissioned back in 2019 as a Combined Heat and Power Plant (CHP). Powered by biomass, which is a carbon-neutral green energy, Cork green energy produces 1.3 megawatts of green electricity per hour, which is supplied directly to the national grid. this ingenious closed loop system is invaluable for its sister company MCP, as the heat generated by this process is supplied back to MCP to heat-treat and kiln dry pallets in their 10+ kilns. since 2022, the company has boosted its energy generating capabilities and credentials by installing a 598k Wp solar generation facility on nearly 4,000 square metres of unused rooftop space in Clondrohid, Co. Cork, and another 100k Wp solar installation in dunboyne, Co. Meath, which equates to over 2,500 solar panels, as well as intelligent led lighting systems, which reduces MCP’s Co2 emissions by 265 tonnes a year.

“We are always thinking of ways to make energy savings,” aidan stresses. “in fact, once all our new warehouses are completed, the plan would be to fit these out with solar panels also and increase our solar generating capabilities on-site and move the company off grid.”

MCP have capitalised on growing trends and demands in ireland over the course of 45 years, thanks to strategic planning and agile management. “one thing remains the same in 2023 as it did back in 1978: the customer is always at the forefront of everything that we do and always will be,” concludes Johnny.