Topaz, Ireland’s leading convenience and fuel retailer and McDonald’s have announced details of a combined investment of €6m in a new state- of-the art service station at the Cashel interchange on the Dublin/Cork Motorway.

 

The new services area, the first one to serve motorists on the busy M8, will create up to 100 jobs. The site, which will be located at Junction 8, will open for business at the end of May. The new station area is being built on a 1.75 acre site, and the Topaz shop will be 250sq m. Upstairs will have seating for 42 people, and there will be parking for up to 40 cars.

Topaz, which is a fully Irish owned and managed company, has a network of over 300 sites nationwide and has plans to build up to 15 service stations close to the motorway network.

Eddie O’Brien, chief executive of Topaz, said the company’s aim was to provide customers with the best services and facilities available.

‘We now have an excellent motorway network but there is a shortage of service sites and we want to address that. Currently there is no site servicing the M8 and we see this service site as being a vital rest and refuelling stop for motorists travelling between Dublin and Cork. This will be a five star service area and facilities will include wi-fi internet access, a hot food buffet and café, children’s play area, toilets and showers’, O’Brien said.

McDonald’s has agreed a 25 year deal with Topaz to provide food services on the site. The partnership with Topaz represents McDonald’s first location on the new motorway network and will bring the number of McDonald’s in Ireland up to 78.

John Atherton, managing director of McDonald’s, said the new site represented an opportunity to provide quality food at affordable prices on one of the busiest routes in the country. "McDonald’s will create up to 60 new jobs at the site which will open 24/7 from opening and will serve a wide range of products from breakfast, through old favourites such as the Big Mac to new items such as wraps and coffee."

Meanwhile Topaz has been recognised as one of the Best Workplaces in Ireland for the fourth year in a row.

This year Topaz secured its highest ever position – seventh – in a list of the best large workplaces in Ireland 2011 and also won a top employee engagement award.

Best Workplaces sets out to recognise the finest employers and therefore the most satisfied workforces in Ireland.

Paul Candon, marketing and corporate services director at Topaz, said: “This is a great achievement for a young Irish company like Topaz. Maintaining the passion, drive and commitment shown by all our employees is the key to our success, making Topaz the vibrant can do organisation it is.”

In addition to recording a highest-ever placing in the Best Workplaces list, Topaz also won a special award for encouraging active collaboration with its staff.

The company recently completed the renovation of a new concept store at Newland’s Cross in West Dublin where it consulted staff on all aspects of the design, from uniforms to layout. Great Place to Work said this project was a perfect example of how collaboration should work.

Candon said employees are working in the front line every day and have a wealth of experience to draw on to help improve the business. “Collaboration leads to engagement, empowerment, pride in the workplace and to innovation,” he said. “It’s a win-win for our customers, our staff and the company.”


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