🕰️ Stepping back in time at Arrabawn! 🕰️
Arrabawn Co-op is looking back on 2001, the year the biggest union in the evolution of our co-op took place. At the beginning of 2001, Nenagh Co-op and Mid West Co-op formalised a long-standing relationship and Arrabawn Co-op was formed.
In the decade before 2001, both societies developed strong relationships with each other. In 1994, an agreement was reached for Mid West Co-op to supply three loads of skim milk per day to Nenagh during the 1994 season. The following year, the society supplied 10 million gallons and in 1996, it increased it to 14.2 million gallons. 🥛
The relationship continued to develop between the two societies each perceiving benefit for their operations and the price paid to suppliers. In 1999, an agreement was made for the supply by Mid West of all skim milk and buttermilk to Nenagh for three years.
By the end of the decade, discussions regarding a merger of the two societies were underway. 🤝
In 2000, these discussions were advanced by a steering committee under the chairmanship of John Tyrrell, Director General, ICOS. By the end of 2000, Special General Meetings of shareholders of both societies has voted overwhelmingly in favour of a merger.
The 309 shareholders who attended the Mid-West meeting in Kilconnell voted 83.8% in favour, while 652 shareholders who attended the Nenagh meeting voted 99.6% in favour. On 3rd January 2001, shareholder approval for the merger was confirmed at a meeting held by each society. The new Arrabawn Co-op was formally registered at the end of February. 🐄
Richard Tobin, Chairman of Nenagh Co-op said he was ‘very pleased with the positive outcome of the vote and looked forward to working towards putting the plans and visions of the new society into practice’.
The first meeting of the newly formed Arrabawn Co-operative Society Ltd was held at the Shannon Oaks Hotel, Portumna on Thursday, April 19th, 2001.
The picture below shows the newly appointed Board of Arrabawn, following the merger of Nenagh Co-op and Mid West Co-op in 2001.
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