Iqon seeks bankruptcy protection

THE IRISH HIGH COURT has appointed an examiner to Iqon Technologies, a Dundalk-based company which currently provides jobs for more than 100 people and has liabilities of €7.5 million. Examinership is Ireland's equivalent of US Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Iqon is Ireland's largest indigenous PC manufacturer and sought protection from creditors late last month while seeking investment enabling it to continue trading. The company produced high-volume, low-cost PCs for retailers such as Tesco and Littlewoods across the UK but is now looking to reduce volumes and concentrate solely on the Irish market.

CEO Ciaran O'Donoghue says the company, which lost €1.6m between January and August this year, plans "to be back in profit within six months of the examinership."

The company has recently signed a deal to manufacture external hard drives for Philips and another to supply gaming PCs for Commodore.

Examinership, which leaves the management in full control of the business, typically lasts for 70 days although it can stretch to a maximum of 100. O'Donoghue said he did not expect the process to take that long.

Iqon reported profits of more than €2 million in 2005. µ

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