During the mid-1970s the Ferenka steel cord manufacturing plant at Annacotty was one of the major employers in the mid-west region, and indeed one of the largest factory complexes in the state. Locally, the factory is remembered for its somewhat chequered history regarding industrial relations, which was one of the factors leading to its closure in 1979. But nationally it is remembered for a more dramatic reason, the kidnapping in 1975 of its managing director, Dutchman Dr. Tiede Herrema