Leading Irish homeware company, the Ard Ri group, has bucked international COVID-19 trends recording one of their busiest sales periods on record. The group has announced the creation of 60 new jobs in their Irish operations spread between their base in Dublin and their headquarters on the Dingle Peninsula. The company has hired an initial 15 people over the past two weeks with a further 45 people due to be hired within 12 months.

The Ard Ri group has grown from a local craft manufacturer in Tralee to an ambitious global manufacturer and distributor of quality affordable homeware products.

Brothers Neil and Paul Fitzgibbon lead a global team of 680 employees across Ireland, the UK and Asia helping them to deliver top class customer service to a trusted network of over 1,200 retailers across both Ireland and the UK. The group has two main homeware brands in Henley Stoves and Deanta Doors, both market leading products across Ireland and the UK. They employ 550 people at their two factories in Southern China, and a further 130 spread across their distribution centres and offices in Dublin, Cambridgeshire in the UK and at their headquarters on the Dingle Peninsula.

According to company director Neil Fitzgibbon, the group's ambitions do not stop there.

“We have grown exponentially in the UK with Deanta Doors UK and Henley Stoves UK. We manage the products from our factory floor in China all the way to our network of retail partners across Ireland and the UK. We are about to launch an ambitious expansion plan into mainland Europe starting with Belgium, Holland, Germany and Poland. By 2025, we will be one of the largest providers of quality doors and stoves in the EU market. By 2030, we will be one of the biggest door and stove manufacturers and distributors in the world.”

Paul Fitzgibbon described how important it is to the company that their headquarters are based on the Dingle Peninsula, just outside Tralee.

“Our father, Noel Fitzgibbon, began Ard Ri as a fireplace manufacturer in Tralee in 1989. Together, as a family, we have overcome obstacles to build two large factories in China and a market for our homeware products across Ireland and the UK. We have a great team behind us here at the Ard Ri group and will grow the company into a global brand within 10 years, all from our base just outside Tralee.”

The company is looking for skilled and experienced people to join their team in the areas of sales, warehousing, marketing, purchasing and administration. They have asked all interested candidates to contact them directly by emailing hr@ardrimarble.com.