SEMPERIT (Ireland) made almost £5 million profit last year, but industry sources believe it will be difficult to find a buyer after the decision of its parent company to close the Dublin plant.
Several interested parties have been talked about over the years, but none has emerged.
The Minister for Enterprise and Employment, Mr Richard Bruton, said last night he had asked the IDA chief executive, Mr Kieran McGowan, to contact prospective buyers. It was hoped to find a buyer "who could avail of the skills of the workers in the plant."
It is understood that Irish officials became aware of the impending closure only on Tuesday. They flew to Frankfurt early yesterday and met the Continental Group chairman, Dr von Grunbreg.
The Continental Group, based in Hanover, is Semperit's parent company. While Mr Bruton explained the importance of the Semperit plant to Ballyfermot, Dr von Grunberg was not optimistic. The Minister then asked the company to phase down the operation and got it to agree to help the IDA in trying to find a buyer.
Mr Bruton said last night that Continental had not rejected the Irish plant in favour of one it owns in Austria. The Austrian workforce had been cut by half.
It is understood that Continental has invested money in the Dublin plant during the past few years. It is not Dickensian, nor is it at the leading edge of new technology", said one source close to the company.
The source suggested that it is possible a new investor could take over the plant, invest in machinery and rationalise the workforce.
Semperit also has a substantial distribution business, Advance Tyres, which has 27 branches around the country. It bought this operation some years ago from Dunlop, when that company underwent radical restructuring, including closing a plant in Cork.
Industry sources say finding a buyer for the Ballyfermot plant will not be an easy task. Before the summer two potential names were floated a Japanese and a US company.
"The trend has been for companies to increase efficiencies and productivity rather than acquire more factories," said one source.
It has been known for some time that the company was considering the sale of the plant as part of a strategic study of its manufacturing operations worldwide.
At one stage Semperit employed 800 people, but last year sought and got 70 redundancies as part of a three year plan to make the company more competitive. The current workforce is around 650 and its payroll costs are £20 million a year.
Last year, Semperit won a £5 million contract to supply General Motors with tyres. However, like all products associated with the motor industry, margins were very tight.
Earlier this year Continental said its Dublin plant, as well as (plants in Scotland, Austria and one in Germany, was among the group's least efficient operations.
Like General Motors, which owned Packard Electric, Continental is understood to have been cutting manufacturing costs by encouraging competition among all its factories.
Continental said earlier this year that 25 per cent of its tyres are made in low cost plants in Portugal, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Poland. The company hopes to increase this figure to 40 per cent over the next three years.
Semperit set up in Ireland in 1968. Over the years the IDA gave it £12 million in grant aid.
Restructuring was started back in 1989 together with an expansion programme, backed by the IDA. It resulted in more jobs and an increase in tyre production from 50,000 to 85,000 a week.