Felix calls it a day: End of an era in Crossdoney
“I’m sad to be retiring but I’m bringing a lot of fond memories with me,” says Felix Gormley of Used Metal Disposals Ltd which has come onto the market for sale to the highest bidder.
Felix has been at the site in Crossdoney for the last 25 years but has been in the scrap business for over 40. It’s been a journey full to the brim of ups and downs but in the main, it’s one that Felix now recalls fondly.
Felix started out in the scrap metal business initially on the Ballinagh Road.
“JJ Brady gave me a site at an old quarry,” he explains, adding he arrived in County Cavan all the way from Colmcille in north Longford in 1958.
“I got a scholarship to Ballyhaise College in 1955 and after that the Ford Motor Company in Cork introduced a new tractor - the Fordson Dexta. I joined Jackson’s Garage and was showing the tractor around County Cavan. From 1958-1963, I sold 633 Fordson tractors. I was at Jacksons for 16 years.”
Meanwhile, Felix recalled his days working in Smith’s Garage. It was a Massey Ferguson dealership and he worked there for two years before Massey “went to Auto Trac on the Cootehill Road”.
“I worked with Sean Clerkin until he left the business in 1970,” continued Felix. “I knew a Massey dealer and we chatted; I opened Cavan Agri Services but we went bust in 1984. It was after that when I moved into scrap.
“I remember surrendering my car on the first Monday of April 1984. I was walking along the road and was a broken man.
“A great friend of mine, Phil Brady of Arva, stopped and asked me if I was alright. I told him what was going on for me. He sold me a car for £64.
“In 1999, I bought the site in Crossdoney from a Mrs Cosgrove and that is where I have been for the last 25 years.”
In that quarter of a century, Felix has seen much change in the sector. The biggest for him has been regulation.
“There has been lots of change over the years but none more so than in regulation. Licences and permits, etc,” he added. “You need a collection permit, an emissions licence for the furnace, sound permits and so on.
Lucky
“Looking back on it all now, I realise that I was lucky to start out in the scrap when I did. Scrap metal became a commodity instead of a nuisance. The first bit of scrap I sold was to Ned Galligan of Kilafassy - I still have the receipt.
“I feel sad to be retiring. But one thing is for sure, I didn’t do all of this on my own. I had great staff; we had 25 people working here at one time, now we have 22. And people are very grateful for the service we provided. I’m retiring on August 16 and I will bring a lot of fond memories with me. I never had a blemish on my licence or permits and I’m very proud of that.”
The business is for sale through Sherry Fitzgerald and is described as a licensed waste metal recycling plant 1.23 Ha / 3.04 acres approx. It boasts a non-ferrous workshop, de-polluting plant, granulation shed, furnace shed, weighbridge with 50 tonne capacity and four portacabin offices.
It is located 2km northwest of Crossdoney village and 8.5km west of Cavan Town.