South Douglas Island Clean Dosco From As Little Relocates Road To Sweep

Clean sweep as Dosco relocates from South Douglas Road to Little Island — Estate, Douglas South Aerials Road, Dosco Industrial

Thu, 05 Sep, 2024 - 09:15

Catherine Shanahan Deputy Property Editor

DOSCO, a longstanding fixture of commercial life on the South Douglas Road, is relocating to Little Island as part of an expansion plan that marks 140 years in the business.

The move, to the former Henkel building in Little Island, will free up the company’s 55,775 sq ft detached warehouse in Dosco Industrial Estate, which it will vacate in November. The large scale industrial unit includes office space and pallet racking for storage of upto 3,200 pallets.

It comes with carparking, a loading/unloading bay and a fenced and gated yard area. The agent tasked with leasing out the property, Declan Hickey of auctioneers Casey & Kingston, said the rent sought is €300,000pa. The warehouse can be let as a single lot or subdivided into smaller units.

The Dosco move to Little Island will see the company end its presence on the South Douglas Road, where it has operated since 1966, having started out in 1884 at Lavitt’s Quay in Cork city, followed by a move at the turn of the 20th century to Merchant’s Quay.

Dosco Industrial Estate, South Douglas Road

Established by Denis O’Sullivan as D O’Sullivan & Co (hence Dosco) it focused from the start on hard-working, quality cleaning products. The first products were mainly brushes for road sweeping, shoes, for removing distemper from walls, cleaning firesides and chimney sweeping. The majority were made by hand, using tar to bind the bristles together before being inserted into the wooden stocks (heads).

The company now has 600 core products; is the only brush manufacturer on the island of Ireland and is in the third-generation ownership of the Kenefick family, starting with George Kenefick, followed by his son Neil, and currently, Neil’s sons, David and George. Both sons are members of the Dosco management team, along with financial controller Oliver Ryan and MD Pat Casey.

Pictured outside the new Little Island premises (L to R): Dosco financial controller Oliver Ryan, project manager David Kenefick, MD Pat Casey and sales director George Kenefick

As part of its expansion plan, the company purchased the former 52,000 sq ft Henkel building, on seven acres, in Wallingstown, Little Island, which came on the market last year for €6m, although what is sold for has not been disclosed. Dosco commissioned a full refurb which began in May this year, headed up by Cork firm Vision builders, and are hoping to be in their new home by year end.

A computer generated image of what the new Little Island premises will look like

In a statement to the Irish Examiner, they said the company “could not have succeeded without its loyal customers and dedicated workforce”. Dosco currently has 52 employees, and hopes to grow that figure as part of its growth strategy.

“This new facility will provide us with the space and resources needed to enhance our production capabilities and better serve our customers,” George Kenefick said.

Managing Director, Pat Casey said: “We are very proud of what Dosco has achieved over the last 140 years and the contribution it makes to the local and national economy. We look forward to a bright future for our business as we grow through expansion and investment”.

The original Dosco premises on the South Douglas Road is less than 2km from Cork city, and a similar distance to the South Ring Road. Cork Airport is less than 5km away and the Jack Lynch tunnel for onward travel (M8/Dublin Road, N25/Rosslare Europort) is less than 6km away.