20 years of winners to be celebrated at National Enterprise Awards
with the Local Enterprise Office, Cork City finalist competing for 2018 title
Figures released this week show that previous winners of Local Enterprise Office-run competition together employ 832 people, generate €131million in turnover annually and export to 52 countries
‘20 Years of Winners’ are being celebrated by the Local Enterprise Offices, including Local Enterprise Office Cork City, at the 2018 National Enterprise Awards, which take place every year to highlight the successes of small businesses around the country.
According to a survey* from the Local Enterprise Offices, released this week, previous winners of the National Enterprise Awards now employ 832 people and generate over €131 million in turnover, €58 million of which is generated from exports to 52 countries. Since winning, 11 of the companies have scaled-up their businesses to become Enterprise Ireland clients.
Previous national winners, such as Irish Yogurts (1998), Obelisk (2000), Digiweb (2004), and Design Pro (2013), will all be recognised at this year’s ceremony in the Mansion House on Thursday, May 24th. The Minister for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, Pat Breen T.D., will be presenting the awards on the night and he said: “It is important to celebrate the wonderful success stories within Ireland’s small businesses and micro-enterprise sector. The annual National Enterprise Awards reflect the Government’s support for, and commitment to, all areas of innovation and enterprise development within the Local Enterprise Office network. As we celebrate 20 years of winners in 2018, we hope that the achievements of previous winners will serve to inspire and encourage today’s start-ups to follow in their footsteps and to look internationally for growth opportunities.”
Adrienne Rodgers with Local Enterprise Office Cork City said: “The National Enterprise Awards are our chance to celebrate finalists’ economic impact on their local communities, the jobs they have created, and the overall growth of their businesses. Combined, the previous winners now employ 832 people all over the country, have a turnover of over €131 million per annum and have €58 million in exports to 52 countries. These achievements deserve to be celebrated on a national scale and we know they will inspire other local companies here in Cork City too.”
The Local Enterprise Office - Cork City is being represented at the 2018 National Enterprise Awards by Mr. Joe Perrott, Tony Garvey & Dan Stapleton from Remote Signals Ltd. The company, which was set-up in 2016 employs 3 people and their IoT solutions enable businesses to easily obtain operating data from remote assets. In all, 31 finalists, one from every local authority area, will be competing for a share of the €40,000 prize fund on May 24th.
To highlight ‘20 years of winners’, Minister Breen visited Simtech Aviation in Fingal this week, which clinched the national title in 2008. Since then, the company has provided aircraft simulator-based training for more than 3,000 pilots who are now employed by 180 different airlines such as Aer Lingus, Norwegian Air and Royal Air Charter from the Philippines. During the visit to Simtech, Minister Breen also met with representatives from five of the 31 companies that have reached this year’s National Final, including: WeBringg (representing LEO Fingal), Blacks of Kinsale (representing LEO Cork North and West), Get The Shifts Ltd (representing LEO Clare), Joint-IT (representing LEO Galway), and Coatek (representing LEO Wexford). The Minister also met with representatives from the Local Enterprise Offices, local government and Enterprise Ireland.
Funding for the Local Enterprise Offices is provided by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland, and further details about the supports on offer to small businesses are available through www.localenterprise.ie.
Previous National Enterprise Award Winners
Celebrating 20 Years of Winners in 2018
Year Company Local Enterprise Office
1998 Irish Yogurts Ltd Cork North and West
1999 Glass & Cladding Technology Meath
2000 Obelisk Communications Cavan
2001 Midland Precision Tool & Die Roscommon
2002 The Hot Irishman Carlow
2003 Grouse Lodge Recording Studios Ltd Westmeath
2004 Digiweb Louth
2005 IFS Ltd Fingal
2006 Modern Timber Homes Ltd Donegal
2007 Crannagh & Co Cavan
2008 Simtech Aviation Fingal
2009 Callan Technology Ltd Clare
2010 ABC Nutrition Ltd Clare
2011 Running Gear Ltd T/A Agrispread Mayo
2012 Innovate Wexford
2013 Design Pro Limerick
2015 MyBio Ltd Kilkenny
2016 Applied Concepts Ltd Offaly
2017 Acutrace South Dublin
There were no National Enterprise Awards in 2014 due to the setting up of the Local Enterprise Offices and the dissolution of the County and City Enterprise Boards that year.
*Survey: Source Local Enterprise Offices (March/April 2018)
Figures compiled by the Local Enterprise Offices in March-April 2018 show that previous winners of the National Enterprise Awards:
- Now employ 832 people in total
- Generate €131,314,281 in annual turnover
- Export sales are worth €58,353,000 to 52 countries
- 11 former winners have scaled up to become Enterprise Ireland clients
National Enterprise Awards 2018
Award Categories and Prize Fund:
The 2018 National Enterprise Awards take place on May 24th in the Mansion House in Dublin and are organised by the Local Enterprise Offices
- Overall Winner, National Enterprise Awards 2017 (Cash Prize for business: €10,000)
- Best Export Business (Cash Prize for business: €5,000)
- Best Start Up Business (Cash Prize for business: €5,000)
- Innovation Award (Cash Prize for business: €5,000)
- Eight Regional Winners (Cash Prize for business: €2,000 each)
Regions:
- Dublin City, Fingal, Dún Laoghaire- Rathdown and South Dublin
- Kildare, Laois, Offaly and Westmeath
- Wicklow, Wexford, Carlow and Kilkenny
- Louth, Meath, Cavan and Monaghan
- Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim and Longford
- Galway, Mayo and Roscommon
- Clare, Limerick, Kerry and Tipperary
- Cork City, South Cork, Cork North & West and Waterford
Full list of all National Enterprise Award Finalists for 2018
Dublin City Usheru www.usheru.com Direct ticketing for film distributors
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown iReach www.ireachhq.com Research and market intelligence specialists
Fingal WeBringg www.webringg.com 90-minute online sales delivery service
South Dublin Absolute Nutrition Ltd www.absolutenutrition.ie Healthy snacks and treats
Clare Get the Shifts Ltd www.gettheshifts.com Skilled, temporary hospitality staff
Kerry Ballyhar Foods www.ballyharfoods.ie Wholesale baked goods producer
Limerick Eastway Remote Monitoring Ltd www.eastwaytech.com Online, machine failure monitoring systems
Tipperary Horizon Offsite Ltd www.horizonos.ie Light-gauge steel building system manufacturer
Kildare Terra Liquid Minerals www.tlm.ie Smart liquid mineral injection system provider
Laois Cyc-Lok Ltd www.cyc-lok.ie Suppliers of access-controlled bike parking lockers
Offaly Intellicom Ireland Ltd www.intellicom.ie Telecommunications service provider
Westmeath Irish Craft Canning www.craftcanning.ie Irish craft beverage process and packaging services
Cork City Remote Signals www.remotesignals.ie Sensors to connect remote assets
Cork North & West Blacks of Kinsale www.blacksbrewery.com Independent micro-brewery and distillery
South Cork Ecanvasser www.ecanvasser.com Political canvassing software
Waterford Blackwater Distillery www.blackwaterdistillery.ie Irish distillery famous for gin
Carlow Burren Precast Concrete www.carlowconcrete.com Attenuation and flood alleviation tanks manufacturer
Kilkenny Glanway Ltd www.glanway.ie Waste processing and recycling facility
Wexford Coatek www.coatek.ie Glass coating and films suppliers
Wicklow Asistec www.asistec.ie Solutions for cell storage and growth
Donegal Niche Specialist Staffing Partners www.nichessp.com International recruitment firm for construction estimators
Leitrim Global Green Sustainability www.globalgreensustainability.com Sustainability consultancy firm
Longford Lir Analytical Ltd www.liragri.com Dairy bio-security products manufacturer
Sligo Wilderness Ireland Ltd www.wildernessireland.com Adventure and wilderness experience tour operator
Cavan Veltig Ireland www.veltig.com Consulting and development services
Louth Celtic Testing Experts (Ireland) Ltd www.celtictesting.com Lean IT project delivery service providers
Meath BSG Design Ltd www.bsgdesign.ie High-end bespoke joinery manufacturer
Monaghan Avail www.availsupport.ie Mobile healthcare solution for those with learning difficulties
Galway Joint-IT www.jointit.com Ready-mixed jointing compound manufacturer
Mayo Buymedia www.buymedia.ie Advertising planning, management and measurement
Roscommon Black Donkey Brewing Ltd www.blackdonkeybeer.com Producer of Irish traditional farmhouse beers
