Kells company wins important Bord na Mona, NRA contracts

A Kells company has won two important contracts, valued at in excess of €1 million over the next three years. Archaeological Development Services Ltd, based at Kells Business Park, has won projects for Bord na Mona and the National Roads Authority (NRA), which will secure the present levels of employment in the Kells facility and may see further jobs created. Eoin Halpin, the Drogheda-born director of the company, said the projects will create additional seasonal employment, leading to additional full-time employment as the projects roll out. The ADS operation in Kells Business Park, is a prize-winning, post-excavation facility which deals with all of the material excavated on archaeological sites throughout the island of Ireland. All of this material comes through the Kells operation, and is processed before being either examined by the company's team of in-house specialists, or dispatched for analysis elsewhere. "It is fantastic news," said Mr Halpin. "This will mean security for us in the short term, and will allow for growth as the grip of the present recession loosens. It is also important that both the projects are with 'blue chip' organisations, the NRA and especially Bord na Mona, with whom ADS have been working for the past 12 years." The ADS operation in Kells ran a very well-attended open day as part of Heritage Day last July, and it is hoped to repeat this for Heritage Day 2010.