8 minute read
Business & Finance
Celebrating 25 years
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Smyth’s Homevalue, Enniscorthy, accepted three awards last month – winner in the ‘Best Paint Store in Leinster’ category and ‘Overall Best Paint Store in Ireland’. And in addition won ‘Best Digital Presence’ in the Homevalue Group. Collecting the awards on behalf of all the team at Smyth’s were proprietors Dermot and Betty Kavanagh pictured opposite. n
Datapac delivers on €200,000 deal
Enniscorthy’s Datapac has delivered an integrated digital transformation solution to the National Opera House, Wexford, in a deal worth over €200,000. This refresh is enhancing the National Opera House’s ability to deliver world-class experiences to guests, artists and employees alike. Full details in next month’s issue of Slaney News. n
Minister James Browne TD: “I was delighted to get a tour of BD, Enniscorthy, and meet staff and management. They are celebrating their 25th year in Enniscorthy and with almost 500 staff they play a huge part in our local economy. A very professional company making state of the art medical devices that save lives all over the world.”
Feasibility Study Grants
Feasibility Study Grants are designed to assist the promoter with researching market demand for a product or service and examining its sustainability. It includes assistance with innovation including specific consultancy requirements, hiring of expertise from third level colleges, private specialists, design and prototype development. The maximum Feasibility Study Grant payable shall be 50% of the investment or €15,000 whichever is the lesser. Expenditure may be considered under the following headings: Market Research - Consultancy Costs - Technical Development/Prototype/ Innovation - Salary/Own Labour Research - Miscellaneous Costs Please contact Wexford LEO for an application form for the Feasibility Study Grant. Phone: 053 919 6020. Email: info@leo.wexfordcoco.ie n
Business supports
The Business Expansion Grant is designed to assist a business in its growth phase after the initial 18 month start-up period. Sole traders, partnerships or limited companies that fulfill the following criteria can apply: - Located and operating within the LEO geographic area. - A business, which, on growth, will have the capacity to progress to the Enterprise Ireland portfolio - A business employing up to 10 employees - A manufacturing or internationally traded service business - A domestically traded service business with the potential to trade internationally. For more information and how to apply click here: https://www.localenterprise.ie/Wexford/Financial-Supports/Business-Expansion-Grant/ The Agile Innovation Fund is now available for small businesses: Introduced by Enterprise Ireland, the Agile fund will help clients of LEO Wexford respond more quickly to market opportunities and challenges like Brexit. Offering fast-track approval and a streamlined online application process, the new Agile Innovation Fund will allow companies to access up to 45% or 50% in support for product, process or service development projects with a total cost of up to €300,000. For more information click: https://www.localenterprise.ie/Wexford/Financial-Supports/Agile%20Innovation%20Fund/ n
Green for Micro
Sign up for The Local Enterprise Office Green For Micro programme – helping your business prepare for the low carbon, more resource efficient economy of the future. Book Now: https://bit.ly/3zW6RBn This FREE initiative is available to companies with up to ten employees, and provides the mentorship and technical support your business needs to go green, covering such as resource efficiency, understanding your carbon footprint, reducing costs and implementing an environmental management system. n
National Women’s Enterpr
National Women's Enterprise Day in the Ashdown Park Hotel, Gorey, 13th October 2022. L-R: Joanne Hession MC, Chupi Sweetman (jewellery designer), Trudie Power (Trudies Kitchen), Michelle O'Neill (international soccer referee), Breege Cosgrave (LEO). Pic: Mary Browne.
National Women’s Enterprise Day, Wexford, 2022. On Thursday 13th October 2022 over 100 female entrepreneurs, women in business and female-led businesses from all over County Wexford gathered in Gorey’s Ashdown Park Hotel to celebrate National Women’s Enterprise Day (NWED) 2022. This was the first opportunity post-covid to gather in person and attend this much anticipated business event. According to Breege Cosgrave, Local Enterprise Office Wexford, who this year is the National Co-ordinator for NWED, the event was about celebrating female leadership, and looking at female innovation and female thinking about the issues that all business are facing this year. “Women are very innovative, very adaptable and very flexible in their thinking – these are the skills that we need to harness now to secure the future.”
The line-up of speakers included well known Wexford food entrepreneur Laura Sinnott of Wexford Home Preserves. Laura was declared Wexford Local Enterprise Office’s Leading Light for 2022 – a Leading Light is a business person who has come through Local Enterprise
Above left: Joanne Hession and Dr. Maureen McIntosh Alberts. Above right: Joanne Hession MC, Liz Hore (Wexford County Council), Chupi Sweetman (jewellery designer), Laura Sinnott (Wexford Home Preserves), Michelle O'Neill (international soccer refeeree), Breege Cosgrave (LEO) and Trudie Power (Trudies Kitchen). Pics: Mary Browne.
rise Day 2022 in Wexford
Office services and have proven themselves to be an inspirational ambassador for other female-led businesses and entrepreneurs.
Also speaking on the day was Wexford’s own international soccer referee Michelle O’Neill who shared her insights on leadership, inspiration and pushing boundaries in sport and in business. The parallels between succeeding in sport and in business were clear and Michelle’s insider information into the world of international top-level sport was fascinating and intriguing. n
Above L-R: Trudie Power from Trudies Kitchen, Laura Sinnott from Wexford Home Preserves and Laura Callaghan from Visit New Ross. Pic: Mary Browne.
Below right: Trudie Power from Trudies Kitchen and Liz Hore, Wexford County Council. Pic: Mary Browne.
Wexford jewellery designer’s national award
Congratulations to Wexford jewellery designer Bláithín Ennis who won the esteemed ‘Jewellery’ category at the Irish Made Awards last month.
Sponsored by Irish Country Magazine, the event aims to highlight the very best of design throughout the island of Ireland.
Bláithín would like to thank all her customers for their votes and the continued support of her brand. The designer recently completed her fourth season designing for Paul Costelloe SS23 at London Fashion Week. This season, her jewellery was entirely made from seashells sourced along the coast of Northern Ireland. The collection embodied delicate encrusted earrings, alongside large painterly structured pieces. See more at www.blaithinennis.com n
Calling all business start-ups
SETU Carlow Campus in collaboration with SETU Waterford Campus and Enterprise Ireland is currently recruiting for its 2022/2023 New Frontiers Programme for Entrepreneurs. The intensive training and support programme provides desk space, mentoring, business master classes, networking plus €15,000 in financial support to accelerate business start-ups. Closing date for Phase 1 applications is Monday, November 14th at 5pm. For an application form, contact info@eric-network.ie or phone 059 9175220. New Frontiers Phase 1 is scheduled to commence on 21st November 2022. Phase 2 will commence in 2023. n
Waters marks 25 years in Ireland with €6m expansion in Wexford
On 7th October 2022, Waters Corporation announced a combined investment of up to €6 million with support from IDA Ireland to expand its operations in Drinagh, Wexford, to fund research and development of new clinical diagnostics products. The operational expansion at the Wexford facility will create new scientific jobs through 2024. The announcement marks 25 years of doing business in Ireland for Waters.
Waters’ Wexford facility, with 400 employed at the site today, is the company’s primary site for manufacturing and delivery of its portfolio of in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) systems, reagent kits, and software used by thousands of hospitals and laboratories worldwide for applications that include health screening for millions of newborn babies.
Pic: Paula Malone Carty.
L-R: Niamh Naughton, Project Executive, MedTech, IDA Ireland, Rachel Shelley, Dept Manager, MedTech, IDA Ireland, Chris Ross, Waters Corp. Senior Vice President, Operations (USA) , Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise Trade & Employment, Leo Varadkar TD, Liam Hore, Waters Corp. Head of Wexford Operations, Kristen Garvey, Vice President Corporate Communications (USA), Mary Buckley, IDA Ireland Executive Director, Leanne Davy, Waters Corp. Senior Dir. Clinical.
“This is a fantastic investment in Wexford by Waters Corporation which will bolster the thriving life sciences cluster in the region,” said Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Leo Varadkar TD. “The Government is committed to job creation in all corners of our country, and we are creating the right environment for investment in the SouthEast with improved road, port and broadband infrastructure as well as the new Technological University. Ireland has become recognised globally for our workforce talent, including the scientific research which is making big advances in medical technologies and diagnostics software. “This €6 million R&D investment will further improve Waters’ mass spectrometry offerings for clinical diagnostics,” he continued. “These developments have real-life impacts, improving the outcome for many conditions, including early disease detection. Waters Corporation is a global leader and a significant employer in Wexford where it has operated for 25 years. I wish the team every continued success.” n
L-R: Tom Enright, CEO Wexford County Council, Cllr George Lawlor, Cathaoirleach Wexford County Council, James Browne, Minister for Law Reform, Lorcan Kinsella, President of County Wexford Chamber, Chris Ross, Waters Corp. Senior Vice President, Operations (USA), Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise Trade & Employment, Leo Varadkar TD, Liam Hore, Waters Corp. Head of Wexford Operations, Kristen Garvey, Vice President Corporate Communications (USA), Mary Buckley, IDA Ireland Executive Director, Leanne Davy, Waters Corp. Senior Dir. Clinical, Cllr Maura Bell, Mayor of Wexford, Paul Kehoe TD and Brendan Howlin TD. Pic: Paula Malone Carty.
