Bord na Móna - Source Issue 12 - (Page 8)
BROWNGOLD
THE BUMPER PEAT HARVEST OF 2013 RESTORED THE COMPANY'S FORTUNES -
AND ITS MORALE. HOWEVER, STOCKS NEED TO BE REBUILT IN ORDER FOR THE
POSITIVE IMPACT TO CONTINUE
T
he peat harvest of 2013 was the
company's best year of production
in terms of the number of harvests
achieved. Coming in at 166 per cent of target,
this was a huge increase on 2012's harvest,
which came in at 37 per cent of target in one
of the wettest summers on record.
The impact on the company has been
significant. Stock levels were precariously low
at the end of 2012's harvest, resulting in a
lower volume of peat available to supply the
peat-generating stations, briquette factories
and professional horticulture customers. This
meant that, in particular, the peat-generating
stations were not operating at full capacity. A
poor harvest in 2013 would have meant even
greater difficulty supplying these stations and
professional horticulture customers. So, in
effect, 2013's bountiful harvest has eliminated
the near-term issues of peat supply.
Not surprisingly, the good harvest also had
8 | Source Winter 2013
a positive financial impact on the company.
In the short-term, it lowered the cost of
peat going into the peat-generating stations
because fixed costs were spread out over a
larger volume of peat, reducing the cost per
unit. In addition, the harvest will benefit the
profitability of the company this year and help
Bord na Móna to meet its financial targets
next year. In that regard, the 2013 harvest
has largely reversed the negative impact of
the 2012 harvest. Some of those negative
impacts involved the introduction of shorttime working which has now been reversed
as those savings are not now required. And
the company is going to look at renewing its
investment in discretionary expenditure such
as marketing, advertising and promotion,
which was cut temporarily to achieve muchneeded cost reductions last year.
However, stocks need to be built up so
that Bord na Móna is better positioned
- financially and in production terms - to
withstand any future events that affect the
harvest. Given that the company will be using
its stock through the winter - via sales and
supply - it is believed that a good harvest in
2014, leaving the company with even more
stock than available this year, would place the
company in a much stronger position.
Undoubtedly, the real success story lay
in the willingness of Bord na Móna's best
asset - its people - to shoulder the savings
necessary in 2012 and to produce a record
harvest in 2013.
OUT IN THE PEATLANDS
The Feedstock business and its employees
were in the eye of the storm in 2012 and on
the crest of a wave in 2013. Coming out of
2012's wet summer, Feedstock had to look
at ways to increase its productive capability
for 2013.
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Bord na Móna - Source Issue 12
Bord Na MóNa - Source Issue 12
Contents
News
Brown Gold
A Bright Future Beckons
Clean Energy Hub
A Good Year
Game On!
Sales Force
Project Update
Heritage Corner
Nationwide
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