The business began back in 1976 when founder Hugh Armstrong left his job in Krups (Limerick-based home appliances manufacturer), where he had held the position of Production Moulding Manager, to take over the wood joinery family business near Saggart in County Dublin, that had been developed by his father.
Less than a year had elapsed when Hugh was contacted by his former employers and asked if he could mould some small products for them as their own capacity was maxed out, and they could not keep up with customer demand. Realising that this was where his passion lay, Hugh went to the bank, secured a loan to purchase two 25T moulding machines, and then set these up in a small building behind the wood joinery in September 1977.
With his first customer being his old employer, so Embankment Plastics was born. There were very few independent moulders around at the time, and as Hugh had such a good reputation in the industry it did not take long for orders from other customers to start coming in the door.
Over the next twenty one years, Hugh and his wife Joan oversaw the development and growth of the two separate businesses…Embankment Joinery & Embankment Plastics, bringing his sons into the business also from quite an early age.
By this time Embankment Plastics had reached full capacity, and yet the demand for their products and services continued to grow, and so they began looking for a newer and larger premises. Continuing to reinvest into the business, theypurchased a plot of land in 1998 on the outskirts of Blessington in Co Wicklow, to house Embankment Plastics and upon which the current facility is now located.
Hugh’s son Barry had become a full-time member of staff at Embankment Plastics by 1991, and he had the same passion for moulding and design as his father. It was inevitable that Barry would take over the reins of the business when Hugh retire shortly after the move to Blessington was completed.
Since Hugh’s retirement in 2007, Barry, alongside his business partner Jacqueline Tyrrell, has overseen an exponential growth in the business, and now Embankment Plastics is recognised as one of the most reputable independent manufacturers within the moulding industry worldwide, with a sizeable customer base and high satisfaction rating second to none
