Coillte is a commercial company operating in Forestry, land based businesses, renewable energy and panel products. Coillte employs 1,200 people.  It owns over 445,000 hectares of land, about 7% of the land cover in Ireland.

The company was established in 1989 as a private limited company under the Forestry Act 1988 which set out its commercial mandate. Under this legislation the company's shareholders are the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Agriculture and Food.

The Coillte Group has three operating Divisions:

• Coillte Forest which operates the company's core forestry business
• Coillte Enterprises which is the venturing arm of the Group that explores opportunities in renewable energy and biomass.
• Coillte Panel Products which manufactures and sells Oriented Strand Board (OSB) and Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) in Ireland, UK and continental Europe. 

 Key Facts:

• Coillte owns over 445,000 hectares of land (approx. 7% of the land cover in Ireland). Since 1989 Coillte has acquired 52,000 hectares and increased the estate by a further 12,000 approx hectares through the Farm Partnership Scheme and other leases;
• 79% (352,000 ha) of the estate is forested, the remainder comprises areas such as open space, water roads;
• The estate is managed in three regions, and further subdivided into 13 districts;
• Approx. 1,200 staff are employed across the Group in Ireland the UK and Europe;
• Strong emphasis is placed on achieving balance between commercial, environmental and social objectives in managing the businesses.
  

Overview of Divisions

Coillte Forest
Coillte Forest manages the Group’s forestry business. During 2007 Coillte had its Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification renewed and launched a third EU Funded environmental project under the LIFE programme. The latest project involves restoring priority woodland habitats and brings to 3 the number of LIFE projects undertaken by Coillte.

Coillte also recently completed the building and upgrading of 34 recreational facilities with the assistance of Fáilte Ireland and Local Authorities, which included looped walks and mountain bike trails.

Lough Key Forest and Activity Park is a joint venture between Coillte and Roscommon County Council and was opened by the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Mary Coughlan, TD in May 2007. This project was funded by the Irish Government and part-financed by the European Union under the National Development Plan 2000 - 2006 Tourism Product Development Scheme administered by Fáilte Ireland.

Coillte Enterprise
Coillte Enterprise, the Group’s venturing arm, is active in a number of areas, optimising the value of the Group’s land assets. Coillte Enterprise is currently exploring the opportunities which exist for the Group in the energy area, in particular looking at the potential for wind farm development and biomass. Coillte is exploring potential biomass applications which can be commercially developed given the substantial resource available in the forest.

Coillte Panel Products
Coillte Panel Products (CPP) comprises SmartPly in Waterford and Medite Europe Ltd in Clonmel and is a significant player in the European panels sector. SmartPly manufactures Oriented Strand Board (OSB) which has a range of applications in construction including flooring, roofing and timber frame building. Medite Europe’s MDF products are exported to the UK, mainland Europe and beyond for a range of applications from children's toys, exhibition stands and shop fittings, to hi-fi speakers, cabinets, decorative mouldings and laminate flooring.