At the 2015 Ulster Bank Business Achievers Awards held in Dublin last weekend, Wood Energy Solutions took home the agribusiness award, while Finnebrogue claimed the overall award in the food and drink category.
Wood Energy Solutions (WES), a manufacturer of carbon-neutral, wood pellet-fuelled heating products based in Cahir, Co Tipperary, scooped the national agribusiness award for 2015.
Established just five years ago in 2010, WES has grown to become the largest manufacturer of biomass boilers in the UK and Ireland, with more than 3,000 boilers supplied to the UK market alone. Other markets supplied by WES include the US, Canada and New Zealand.
Finnebrogue, a Northern Ireland-based producer of artisan sausages, won the national award in the food and drink category. The business was established in 1985 as a food distributor to shops and restaurants. It has since diversified into a producer of high-end sausage products, with a multimillion pound contract supplying premium sausages to Marks & Spencer. Finnebrogue is also behind the Paul Rankin sausage range.
The company says it has grown by an average of 40% year-on-year since 2001 and is projecting that it will generate revenues of £380m (€525m) over the next 10 years.
Other winners
The overall Ulster Bank Business Achiever Award went to the Chanelle Group, based in Loughrea, Co Galway. The Chanelle Group was founded by Michael Burke in 1985, initially focusing on manufacturing products for the animal health market in Ireland and the UK.
Chanelle continues to manufacture veterinary products today, including well-known brands such as Bovex and Animec.
Other winners on the night included Netwatch, which scooped the international business award. Netwatch, a CCTV monitoring and security company, was co-founded by David Walsh, who graduated with a BA in Agricultural Science from UCD in 1988. Walsh is well-known in the industry having previously worked as a marketing and sales director with Keenan’s machinery and JCB Ireland.
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