Company History

Coillte is a private limited company, which operates with forestry and other related topics. It is owned by the Minister for Finance and the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources. The company was established in 1988.

Principal Objectives

The objectives of Coillte are to be:
1. Financially successful.
2. Silviculturally acceptable, which means being acceptable to
the people and to the environment.
3. To establish woodland industries.
4. To participate with others in forestry and to enhance the
profitable operation of the company.

Duties

The duties of Coillte are to manage the company in a manner that generates sufficient revenue to pay all the taxes, generate capital, repay borrowings and to have regard for the countryside and the environment we all live in.

Strategic Direction

In forestry terms, Coillte is a very young company. A considerable amount remains to be achieved. Over the next thirty years, forests products will become a sector of major importance to the Irish economy, based on the expanding Irish forestry estate. The principal objectives of Coilltes futures strategy are to keep on buying land and extend the National forest and to develop Christmas tree production and other products.

Coillte Christmas Trees

Coillte produce many Christmas trees in Ireland. They keep a close eye on the trees because they have to be up to a high standard. Coillte have non-shed species for those who don't like cleaning. Now they are one of Europe's largest tree manufacturers. They own 800 hectares of land and they have around 4 million trees planted on that land.

Growing conditions

Ireland's temperate climate is perfectly suited to growing top quality Christmas trees. Our mild winters and cool summers with abundant rainfall and free draining soil produce the finest trees Europe today. Unlike other countries our trees do not suffer from frost in fact it helps them to allow greater needle retention

Coillte and the Economy

• Coillte employs 1,083 staff and sub contracts another 2,000. In total about 16,000 people are employed in the timber industry. The company has trained 1,100 people since 1991. Over 95% of their staff is located in Dublin.
  
• Coillte and their customers buy 200 million pounds of supplies each year.
  
• Ireland will soon become an exporter of timber.
  
• Irish sawmills supply 43% of the local market.
  
• Every year one quarter of the production is exported.
  
• All timber used for pallets and fencing is produced in Ireland and about half of the production is exported.
  
• Coillte's land is used a lot for tourism and is visited by several million people every year. Coillte provides forest parks, picnic sites and forest walks.