Bernard and Patricia Coyle of Mr Crumb, Finea, with former minister for agriculture, Brendan Smith, in January 2011.

No crumb of comfort for Finea firm

Finea based food company Mr Crumb’s “worse than useless” internet connection is a major stumbling block in the firm’s plans for expansion and could put a question mark over its future in the area, according to its founder.

One of the biggest employers in north Westmeath, Mr Crumb has contracts with some of the biggest multiples in Ireland and abroad including Tesco, Dunnes Stores and SuperValu.

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, founder Bernard Coyle said the internet connection is so slow in Finea that it is “one of the reasons” that they decided to open a UK office.

“We have had this issue with the internet since the late 90s and we were told that it was coming soon in the early 2000s and that it has been coming every two years since.

“We are totally philosophical at this stage. We opened a UK office and try and do as much from over there but it would not be encouraging you to expand.

“The last time we looked we had a 3Mbps download and a 4Mbps upload speed. It’s pathetic, sometimes you have to go up and have a cup of tea when you’re waiting. It’s unreal. We deal with a lot of national and international multiples and they can’t understand this.

“Supermarkets are not known for their patience. You might get an 80 page document to download, fill and then upload. We are under pressure to send it back and we often have to go to an internet cafe to do so. We spend around €200 a month on satellite based internet and it’s worse than useless.”

Founded in 1996 by Mr Coyle, Mr Crumb supplies a range of food products to retail giants in the UK and Europe and employs over 80 at its Finea plant.

He says that the firm’s growth has occurred “in spite” of being based in a rural location where there is no high speed broadband connection or a town sewerage system. If these “obstacles” are not addressed by the powers that be, Mr Coyle says that it could have a big impact on the firm’s future in Finea.

“We are launching with the ICA supermarket group in August and it’s a joke with them and their people length of time it takes for us to download and upload stuff.

“It’s putting a limitation on us developing. We flagged this 12 months ago with the powers that be. If, somewhere down the line, we move site, there’s a big case for us moving to the UK given the amount of business we do there.

“There is no proactivity from the authorities whatsoever. We have fairly regular power cuts; there is no town water sewage and broadband is an issue, more obstacles than helping.

“If you were looking at the next stage of expansion, based on the situation as is, you would have to say without frightening anyone you would have to say we wouldn’t be developing further at this moment in time.”

Last week, Eircom’s director of corporate affairs Paul Bradley said that rural communities such as Finea would have to wait for government’s national broadband strategy to be rolled out locally before they would receive a high speed broadband connection.

While he is “not holding his breath for this to happen”, Mr Coyle warned that the wait could have severe implications for the local economy.

“If the day comes and someone comes in and would like to buy you or merge, would they really want to stay in this area. I would be worried because the services are not being provided. The acquirer could say we can’t be where there are no services.”