20 years of winners to be celebrated at 2018 National Enterprise Awards

Minister Breen visits former winners ahead of May 24th ceremony

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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 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.

Ahead of this year’s awards ceremony on May 24th, the Minister for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, Pat Breen T.D. visited the 2008 winners, Simtech Aviation in Fingal, to see how their business has ‘taken off’ since their win a decade ago.

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, and Minister Breen, who will be presenting the awards on the night, 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.”

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Breda Fox, Chair of the organising committee with the Local Enterprise Offices, 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, have a turnover of over €131 million per annum and have €58 million in exports to 52 countries. These achievements deserve to be celebrated and we know they will inspire other Irish companies too in the future.”

Simtech Aviation clinched the national title in 2008 and 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 today’s 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.

Previous National Enterprise Award Winners
Celebrating 20 Years of Winners in 2018

YearCompany NameLocal Enterprise Office
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.

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*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

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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
South East Region

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