Industry Finalists
MIKE & PAT GLENNON
Glennon Brothers
TIMBER PROCESSING firm Glennon Brothers was established in 1913 by William Glennon and his brother James. William ran the business until 1943 when he was succeeded by his son Paddy – Pat and Mike Glennon’s father. At this time the business was a one man operation, located on a 12-acre site near Longford town, with the sawmill powered by a water wheel. Pat joined full time in 1978 and was joined by Mike in 1985 upon completion of a business studies degree from Dublin City University. Through a series of strategic acquisitions and robust organic growth, the brothers have grown the business from €8 million in 1991 to an impressive €70 million today. In 1998 they acquired the Fermoy facility from the Smurfit Group. The loss making plant was transformed into a world class timber processing facility after a €25 million investment. In June 2004 a fire in Longford cut the group’s primary production capacity in half – 30 staff from the plant agreed to immediately transfer to Fermoy to operate the facility on a double shift.
In October 2005 Windymains Timber based in Humbie, near Edinburgh, was acquired by the Glennon Brothers and was an important step in the firm becoming a serious player in the forest products sector in the Britain. In May 2007 the company made its first venture outside the timber processing sector with the acquisition of timber frame manufacturing firm Dempsey Timber Engineering in Arklow, Co Wicklow. The following year, Glennon Brothers acquired one of the largest sawmills in the UK – the Troon-based fifth generation family business Adam Wilson Sons Ltd. Glennon Brothers Group employs over 340 people directly and another 170 people indirectly in the areas of harvesting and haulage
CUSTOMERS
Today, Glennon Brothers supplies a large range of products to major builder merchant groups, independent merchants, pallet manufacturers, residual product manufacturers and house-builders throughout Ireland and Britain.
WHAT ARE THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES YOU FACE NOW?
In an Irish context, overcoming the lack of a reliable and cost efficient source of logs and continuing to find new export markets to alleviate the problems caused by the downturn in the Irish construction sector. Integrating the new acquisitions into the group to produce synergies is a significant challenge. We need to ensure we continue to recognise our heritage and retain our family business ethos.
Barry Group
JIM BARRY:FOUNDED BY James A Barry in 1955, the company originally sold fruit and vegetables in north Cork. It has grown steadily over the years and now trades prominently on a national basis, supplying products to over 700 stores, including 237 affiliated stores, in the Republic of Ireland. Under the leadership of managing director Jim Barry, Barry Group developed its first franchise, Quik Pick, in 1996 and since then has developed three more exclusive franchise businesses in Ireland – Costcutter (convenience retailer), Carry Out (specialist off-licence) and Buy Lo (Irish brands discount store). Barry Group recently invested over €1.5 million in a 20,000 sq ft extension plan to its central distribution centre in Mallow, Co Cork. The company's Irish brands discount store plan has completed its trial period, and it intends to have 10 new Buy Lo stores operating by the end of the year. Barry Group also plans to double the number of Carry Out stores by 2012. Last year, the group reported strong trading results to the year ending January 31st, 2009, with an increase in sales to €212 million with pre-tax profits of €2.6 million.
PRODUCTS
Barry Group offers a wide range of grocery, catering, alcohol and fruit and vegetables at competitive prices from their complex at Upper Quartertown, Cork, complete with their our own modern fleet of trucks providing a national distribution service.
CUSTOMERS
As well as operating in Ireland, The Barry Group trades internationally in over 10 countries.
WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST CHALLENGES?
Unlike many wholesalers, I am confident and positive about the future of retail in Ireland, and in particular about my own business. While consumer spending habits have fundamentally changed towards a more aggressive value-seeking behaviour, the reality is that consumers are still spending on the products and services they perceive to have real value, so there is opportunity for our retailers in that.
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU TO SUCCEED?
My fantastic team and the entire staff of 249 employees are a constant source of motivation to me. They are the real drivers of the success of our business, without them we couldn’t have achieved the great successes and dynamic growth we have. On a personal level, I’m motivated by the job in hand. I love wholesale, no two days are ever the same and that keeps me on my toes!
OHare & McGovern
EAMONN O'HARE:NEWRY MAN Eamon O'Hare spent many enjoyable Sundays after Mass doing site visits in the locality with his father, who was a site manager for a building company. Fascinated by the development process the young man knew he had found his calling in construction. He started a course in civil engineering at Queens University in the early 1960s, but instead of completing his degree O'Hare decided to start working, while completing his studies part-time at the University of Ulster.
By the age of 23 he was a site manager looking after 100 employees in a civil engineering company. In 1986 he joined his brothers in O’Hare McGovern, a small housebuilding business. The company won a £3.6 million contract to relocate a large firm, which called on all of O’Hare’s engineering expertise. He became a director in 1988 and moved the company towards shopping centres, university work and health sector projects, outside the local area. This made the firm one of the best-recognised design and build contractual experts in Ireland, with turnover in excess of £70 million.
At the height of the Troubles, and despite reluctance from his brothers, he took on work in Belfast and beyond, which helped the company break into more profitable sectors. It expanded into the South in 1996 and built projects like the Monaghan shopping centre, office blocks and a hotel at Dublin airport. O’Hare became managing director in 1998. The firm employs 43 in the office with 150 full-time workers and 600 sub-contractors.
PRODUCT
General contracting, housebuilding, civil engineering, shopfitting, private development and public-private partnership.
CUSTOMERS
In more recent times the company has expanded outside of Ireland with projects in the Isle of Man and on the Shetland Islands.
BIGGEST BUSINESS ACHIEVEMENT?
Taking the business from a small company to providing a wage for in the region of 700 people is an achievement. In terms of scale working on the Obel Tower in Belfast is perhaps the biggest. At 28 stories it is the tallest building in Ireland.
HOW DO YOU RECHARGE YOUR BATTERIES?
People who know me will say winning tenders is what I call recreation. I play a little golf. I really enjoy travelling, regularly cruising down the Shannon, and relish the opportunity to travel to Saudi to possibly acquire new business. I am also a big GAA fan and an avid supporter of Down football team
Technopath
MALCOLM BELL DAVE SULLIVAN:FOUNDED IN 1997 by Malcolm Bell and Dave Sullivan, Technopath is a specialist company in the production of high-quality, plasma components and liquid-stable quality-control materials for the in vitro diagnostics industry.
This year they completed the final phase of their 25,000 sq ft corporate headquarters and manufacturing facility. Turnover in 2010 is on target to achieve 60 per cent growth over 2009, jumping €10 million to €16 million.
PRODUCTS
The services Technopath provide include the development of bespoke quality control materials for the diagnostic industry, blood components for the bioprocessing industry and identification systems for characterising yeasts used in fermentation technology. Technopath supplies products for interventional cardiology and radiology, critical care, enteral feeding, pathology laboratories, pharmaceutical, food and water sectors.
CUSTOMERS
Technopath comprises three companies – Technopath Distribution Ltd, Technopath Manufacturing Ltd, and Envetec – servicing the healthcare and biotechnology sectors in five continents. They have over 750 well-known customers including the HSE, Pfizer,Thermo Fisher, Kerry Group, Glanbia and Dairy Gold.
DESCRIBE YOUR DEVELOPMENT
We started in 1997 with three employees working in a business-incubation centre, and have grown the business exponentially across the healthcare and biotechnology sectors, expanding into the UK in 1998, and forging into new markets as the opportunities arose. We now have customers in five continents.
IS THERE ANY INTERESTING CIRCUMSTANCE SURROUNDING THE COMPANYS INCEPTION?
When operating solely as a distribution company, in 2007 Technopath lost the rights to a product line which we had successfully promoted in the UK and Ireland. Rather than trying to source a replacement product, we embarked on a three-year RD programme, and developed a technologically improved product of our own. This changed Technopath from a sales and distribution company into a RD and manufacturing company.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE AN ENTREPRENEUR STARTING OUT TODAY?
Identify and accept your strengths and weaknesses at an early stage and bring in the expertise to ensure your time is optimised doing what you are good at.
THE AWARD:The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, now in its 13th year, aims to recognise and acclaim Ireland's entrepreneurs. The award is run in association with The Irish Times, RTÉ, Enterprise Ireland, InterTradeIreland, and Newstalk. Eight companies have been chosen in each of the three categories: International, Industry and Emerging. Four nominees will be profiled each Monday over the next four weeks. A nominee must be a business founder or owner, and be primarily responsible for the recent performance of a company that is at least two years old. Founders of public companies are eligible, provided the founder is still active in top management. The nominee must own 5 per cent of the company to be eligible.
Anyone – including employees, company advisors and financiers – can nominate a successful entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs may nominate themselves and/or their peers.
The judges are business people who have achieved success in their own right. Thus, all nominees are judged by their peers.
Judging criteria include growth in turnover and employee numbers, as well as vision, degree of innovation, creativity in production, marketing and selling, and expansion in local and international markets
The chairman of the judging panel is Padraig O’Ceidegh, chairman of Aer Arann. The other judges are Terry Clune CEO, Taxback.com; Hugh O’Donnell CEO, Kentz Group; Brian Long, partner, Atlantic Bridge Ventures; Michael Carey, executive chairman, Jacob Fruitfield Group; Anne Heraty, chief executive officer, CPL Resources plc; Jerry Kennelly, CEO, Gustavo; Tom Hayes, Enterprise Ireland; Pat McDonagh, ThirdForce; Liam Shanahan, managing director Shanahan Engineering; Liam Nellis, chief executive InterTradeIreland.
The winner will be announced at a televised awards ceremony on October 21st.
