The hugely successful Innovation Arena organised by Enterprise Ireland and partners the Irish Farmers Journal and the National Ploughing Association will take centre stage at the Ploughing in Screggan. Last year’s overall winner Bryan Davis is on the road to growing his company, participating on the Enterprise Ireland New Frontiers Programme.

Speaking about the experience, Davis said: “It has been great, from winning at the Innovation Arena and then taking on the challenge of New Frontiers.” He added that the prize of €15,000 in funding really allowed him to concentrate on developing the business.

Global Interest

This year interest has been strong, with the competition completely full according to Enterprise Ireland’s James Maloney, who is the project manager for the event. He believes the Innovation Arena is fast becoming a focal point for the agri-tech sector in Ireland. The event will host more than 100 international buyers from across the world to examine Irish innovations.

He said there is a huge benefit for Irish companies as it exposes them to international buyers which can create new market opportunities for established companies.

He added that this is important, given the challenges surrounding Brexit.

Every year Enterprise Ireland works with around 5,000 companies through a network of market and sector advisers based across 10 national offices and 33 international offices

He added the Innovation Arena this year will also be used as a conference venue, where new products can be launched, and presentations made to international buyers. To help develop business, private meeting rooms will also be available to discuss potential opportunities with international buyers.

He said that every year Enterprise Ireland works with around 5,000 companies through a network of market and sector advisers based across 10 national offices and 33 international offices.

He explained that this demonstrates their ability to help take an innovative company and create the opportunity to deliver global success.

The Innovation Arena plays an important role in Enterprise Ireland’s strategy to deliver 60,000 new jobs across all sectors by 2020 and create €5bn in extra exports. He said that Ireland is well positioned in the agri-tech sector to develop and succeed in the future years.

Ireland’s agri-tech advantage

Moloney believes Ireland has a reputation for strong, well-made, efficient machines, especially in grass and material handling.

Last year, for the first time, Enterprise Ireland hosted a selection of manufacturers on its stand at Agritechnica, the world’s largest trade fair for farm equipment. It is envisaged that this year’s ag-engineering category winner will be invited to display the winning innovation on the stand for 2019 in Germany.

He added that industry stalwarts such as McHale and Dairymaster have already paved the way for Irish companies in many markets. He believes it is an opportune time for the next wave of Irish companies to increase their market potential.

“Every big company started as a small company at some stage,” according to Maloney. He says the Innovation Arena hopes to find these people with entrepreneurial talent and the ambition to grow. He added that farmers are extremely resourceful, coping with multiple tasks simultaneously, and this often leads to an idea or problem-solving device that really works.

Problem-solving

If it solves a problem on one farm, then it is very likely that the same problem exists on many more farms, according to Maloney.

He concluded that the Innovation Arena is ideal to showcase this talent, focusing on innovation from the earliest levels of development, providing innovators with the unique experience of meeting 300,000 people over the three days at the Ploughing.