The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor T.D., has announced the small businesses that have reached the National Enterprise Awards Final on 9 June, including a local company from Ballymurn, Enniscorthy, County Wexford.
Last year, Local Enterprise Offices supported thousands of small businesses from across the country through the Local Authorities Network, and 32 of those businesses have now reached the National Final. The nominee from Wexford County Council’s Local Enterprise Office is Hentech Fabrication Ltd, a family-run company from Ballymurn that specialises in steel fabrication and employs 18 full-time staff.
The Local Enterprise Office selected Hentech as the winner of the County Enterprise Awards in March 2016, nominating the company to represent Wexford at the National Finals, which will take place at the Aviva Stadium in June.
The competition has a prize fund of €40,000 and was established to celebrate Ireland’s small businesses and micro-enterprises. Twelve awards will be presented on the night, including eight new regional trophies, and the overall winner will receive €10,000 to invest in their business.
Head of Enterprise at Wexford County Council Tom Banville paid tribute to Wexford’s small business community, saying: “Small businesses such as Hentech Fabrication are becoming the heroes of the economic recovery locally and we want to celebrate their successes and talents. The Local Enterprise Offices, through the Local Authorities Network, support thousands of small businesses in the community every year and the National Enterprise Awards are a fitting way to recognise their remarkable achievements.”
Mitchell O’Connor announced the finalists at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in Dublin, accompanied by Kieran Comerford of the Local Enterprise Offices, Mark Christal of Enterprise Ireland, Paul Reid, Chair of the Local Government Economic, Enterprise and Tourism Committee, and last year’s overall winner, Linda Nolan of MyBio in Kilkenny.
The National Enterprise Awards winners will be announced at a ceremony in the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Thursday 9 June.