THE official shirt sponsor of Tyrone GAA has recorded a 65 per cent surge in its revenues, new company accounts show.
Tyrone Fabrication signed up as the county’s new title sponsor in November 2017.
The Ballygawley engineering firm penned a two-year deal, that involved its now well-known logo adorning the shirts of Tyrone’s senior, under-20 and under-17 sides for both football and hurling.
The first year of the shirt sponsorship deal saw Tyrone’s senior men enjoy a high profile run to the 2018 All-Ireland final, ultimately losing out to Dublin. The 2019 season saw Tyrone reach the All-Ireland senior semi-finals, with the county’s under-17 and under-20 sides lifting Ulster titles.
Owned by the McDermott family, Tyrone Fabrication specialises in manufacturing enclosure solutions, ranging from small electricity cabinets to large equipment cabins.
New accounts published by Companies House reveal that in its first full year as Tyrone GAA’s sponsors, the company saw its turnover rise from £7.86 million in 2017 to £13m at the end of December 2018.
Pre-tax profits also surged by 66 per cent over the year from £0.96m in 2017 to £1.59m.
The growth was mirrored in Tyrone Fabrications’s workforce, which increased to 96 , with the company recruiting 25 new staff over the 12 months.
The Ballygawley firm’s wage bill also grew by almost £1m over the year to £2.86m.
Tyrone Fabrication took over from Cookstown based construction giant McAleer and Rushe, who had sponsored the county GAA side for three years.
The building firm last year agreed to continue with its long-standing sponsorship package with Tyrone’s ladies GAA sides, which remains a separate sporting entity.
Announcing the new deal last year, former Tyrone GAA chairperson Roisin Jordan described Tyrone Fabrication as “a progressive company with strong GAA credentials that are going from strength to strength”.
She added: “This is a significant partnership and I have no doubt it will be beneficial to Tyrone GAA and I trust it will be equally beneficial to Tyrone Fabrication and I look forward to working with them.”
The value of the sponsorship deal has not been disclosed by Tyrone GAA, but it’s understood that similar sponsorship deals in the past have garnered six figure sums for the county board.
Tyrone GAA also retains smaller sponsorship packages with the LCC Group, Bank of Ireland, Deep River Rock, O’Neills and Todds Leap.
Previous jersey sponsors of Tyrone GAA include Meath-based crisp firm Largo Foods, who signed up to have its Hunky Dorys branding appear on the county shirts over 2013 and 2014. The Meath-based company opted not to extend the deal into a third year.
Irish haulage firm Target Express partnered with Tyrone GAA in February 2009 in a two-and-a-half year deal that was expected to run until the end of the 2012 season. However the Fermanagh-based courier group ceased trading in August 2012 with the loss of almost 400 jobs.
Pomeroy-based water firm Rocwell enjoyed one of the most successful era’s in Tyrone GAA’s history during its three-year deal between 2005 and 2008. It took over from the county board’s long-running association with WJ Dolan, which ran for more than a decade.
