Tipperary-based company Horan Automation named Outstanding Small Business at the SFA National Small Business Awards 2019
Thurles company Horan Automation was named Outstanding Small Business at the SFA National Small Business Awards 2019 on Thursday, 7 March 2019.
Blueacre Technology from Louth won the Overall SFA National Small Business Award 2019.
The awards celebrate the achievements of small business in Ireland and recognise the vital contribution of the sector to the Irish economy. The winners were selected from hundreds of applications received for the 2019 programme.
Announcing Horan Automation’s win, Sue O’Neill, SFA Chair and Chair of the Awards Judging Panel, said: “This outstanding small business which specialises in industrial automation is really a one stop shop when it comes to design, machine construction, machine integration and maintenance. And excitingly the company is providing solutions for many leading multinational companies including the design and manufacture of robotic arms to make production processes more efficient.”
SFA Director Sven Spollen-Behrens added: “We continue to grow an Awards programme that positions the small business brand, as the backbone of the Irish economy. It has been great tonight to celebrate the best in small business. Small businesses contributed to the recovery of our economy by making difficult decisions in times of recession. They are proving yet again their resilience and flexibility when faced with new challenges.”
The seven category winners are:
- Manufacturing: Blueacre Technology (Louth)
- Food & Drink: The Foods of Athenry (Galway)
- Highly commended: Fenit Fruit & Veg (Kerry)
- Services: Ryan’s Pharmacy (Kildare)
- Highly commended: Contracting PLUS (Dublin)
- Innovator of the Year: NVP Energy (Galway)
- Highly commended: OVVO (Louth)
- Exporter of the Year: Prodigy Learning (Dublin)
- Sustainable Energy: Monasterboice Inn (Louth)
- Outstanding Small Business (up to 5 employees): Horan Automation (Tipperary)
The following Emerging New Businesses (under 2 years) were recognised on the night.
- Get the Shifts (Clare)
- Gym+Coffee (Dublin)
- PeachyLean (Dublin)
- Zarrdia (Dublin)
- The UX Studio (Galway)
This is the fifteenth year of the SFA National Small Business Awards, an initiative of the Small Firms Association.
The award categories are sponsored by Bord Bia, Enterprise Ireland, Bord Gais Energy, the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, Three, PermanentTSB and One4All. The Emerging New Business section is sponsored by IE Domain Registry. Skillnet Ireland is the SFA Awards management training partner and Irish Independent is the media partner.