FRS, the multimillion euro social enterprise co-operative with operations and multiple business units located all across Ireland, has announced it is rebranding as FRS Co-Op.
Headquartered in Roscrea, Co. Tipperary and previously known as FRS Network, the Co-Op is active in every town and village across the country.
The group has grown considerably from when it was originally founded in 1980 as National Co-op Farm Relief Services (NCFRS). It now employs 2,000 people across a number of different sectors. These include farming, fencing, recruitment, employment support, Government services and training.
Among the nationally renowned businesses that make up FRS Co-Op are:
- FRS Farm Services – Employs 1,000 people, who are supporting over 2,000 farms across Ireland.
- FRS Fencing – Ireland’s largest fencing provider employing over 100 people nationally. The fencing solutions they provide cover agricultural and equestrian, industrial and security, residential, sports and DIY fencing. They also operate 17 fencing stores around the country. In 2023 they delivered 2.5 million metres of fencing for their customers.
- Herdwatch – Is a leading farm management app and software in Ireland, the UK and North America. It is used by over 22,000 farmers managing over 3 million animals on a daily basis.
- FRS Recruitment – One of Ireland’s leading recruitment agencies. They advertised a total of 88,964 job opportunities around the country last year. These were managed by their 100 members of staff operating out of 10 different office locations around the country.
- FRS Training – Has provided over 100,000 training courses over the last 40+ years. FRS Training are market leaders in providing health and safety, construction, agricultural, horticultural, leadership & professional, employment preparation and eLearning training across all sectors and in every county of Ireland.
- Turas Nua – Delivers National Employment Services in thirteen counties across Ireland, as well as the Local Area Employment Services for Laois and Offaly. They have helped over 60,000 long term unemployed people to secure jobs. They have also provided 614,000 training sessions to prepare people for the needs of the modern jobs’ market.
- WrkWrk – Helps employers to quickly and easily fill temporary job openings. Their mission is to make shiftwork work for everyone. This has seen 27,340 shifts filled through WrkWrk over the last four years.
- FRS Contract Services – Manages contracts for government, industry, semi-state and commercial for sectors including environmental, quality assurance and agtech.
Speaking about the rebrand, Colin Donnery, Group CEO of FRS Co-Op said, “This is an exciting time for FRS Co-Op, as we set out to build on the considerable achievements we’ve made over the last 40+ years. Since it was formed in 1980, co-operation with our colleagues and neighbours has been central to everything we do in FRS. We’ve always had deep roots in our local communities. From small seeds, our business has developed a reach that now extends all across Ireland and beyond, but our ethos has never altered. We know that we grow better together, a belief that is ingrained in everything we do. That is why we wanted the co-op aspect of our business to be more prominent in our new branding.
“As we look to the future of the business, those ideals will continue to be our key strength. Our mix of local and national experts, combined with an eye on innovation, allow us to work effectively with communities we live in and the farms and businesses we work with. We believe FRS Co-Op is a business which exists to make a difference. A positive difference to the lives of those who work for us, who work with us and to the communities in which we all live. As we move forward under our new FRS Co-Op brand, we expect to see those contributions shine through even brighter in the years ahead,” Mr. Donnery concluded.
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