Festivities as Balcas celebrates 60th anniversary


THE CELEBRATIONS for Balcas’ 60th anniversary have been continuing with festivities and family fun aplenty. All this year the local timber giant, formerly known as Ballycassidy Sawmills, will be marking six decades serving the people of Fermanagh, having employed many hundreds of locals over the years, including generations of families. Celebrating ‘Balcas at 60’ there has […]


Balcas celebrates 60th anniversary


By John Carney ONE OF Fermanagh’s most well-known businesses is celebrating its 60th anniversary with many community-orientated events over the next 12 months. On August 17, 1962, Balcas was established and since then it has become one of Britain and Ireland’s largest wood product suppliers and renewable energy providers, with just over 380 direct employees. In addition, […]


Balcas workers pedal power in memory of Erne


STAFF and management at Balcas are delighted to be back fundraising for worthy local causes after an 18-month hiatus. This time, some 30 staff members took to the open water of Lough Erne on hydro-bikes for a sponsored cycle around the island town of Enniskillen. The workmates wanted to raise money for the Aisling Centre […]


Balcas on hit show DIY SOS tonight at 9pm on BBC1


Watch local timber firm, Balcas, on the hit show DIY SOS tonight at 9pm on BBC1. Spokesperson for Balcas, Roisin McManus, described it as “an honour” to supply fencing and sleepers for the project featured in tonight’s show which helped a Bangor family with complex medical issues. The McCreight family described the work carried out […]


Key figure in the Balcas success story dies, aged 91


ONE of Fermanagh’s leading businessmen for many years, George Kidney, OBE, has died at the age of 91 years. A founder member of Ballycassidy Sawmills Ltd in 1962, he dedicated himself to the timber industry and guided the company into the entity it is today, Balcas Timber Ltd. Late of the Dublin Road in Enniskillen […]


Balcas strike action averted …but Encirc row heats up


AS Fermanagh’s first private sector strike in over a decade comes to an end, all eyes are turning to Derrylin where factory staff are considering taking to the picket lines.  According to the union Unite, workers in the county have been “electrified” and “galvanised” by the stand taken by staff at Balcas last week, who […]