Posts Tagged ‘SME’

Small Business in Ireland

Wednesday, July 8th, 2009

According to a recent survey by ISME there seems to be no evidence of “Green Shoot” in the Small Business Sector in Ireland. Actually the opposite is true and thing are getting worse.

40% expect to let staff go

70% dont expect to be in business next year if things don’t change

The worst hit sector is Construction followed by Retail, Distribution and Manufacturing.

The biggest problems faced by SME’s include fall in orders BUT more worryingly lack of access to credit. Hmmmm – gues those banks are not fulfilling their side of the deal!!

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SFA Awards in Ireland – Aran Candy take top prize

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008

There have been quite a few new kids on the block in Ireland over the last decade and many of these have taken awards at the SFA awards.

This year Aran Candy took the top award at the SFA National Small Business Award 2008. Aran Candy is a Dublin based gourmet jelly beans producer and a good one at that (Tested the products!!). The company is aka The Jelly Bean Factory and it has manufacturing premises in Blanchardstown.

Aran Candy received a 15k cash prize and a lifetime membership of the SFA. I certainly know which of the prizes appeals more to me – 15k to spend on Jelly Beans.

Aran Candy is a great success story founded by a father and son. They are now one of the largest producers globally with 10 key customers in Ireland and 120 further customers globally.

The full list of winners in SFA Awards 2008:

INNOVATOR: (up to 50 employees): Easy Fix Rubber Products
MANUFACTURING: Ecocem Ireland
FOOD & DRINK: Aran Candy
SERVICES: Home Instead Senior Care
OUTSTANDING SMALL BUSINESS (up to five employees): Atomic Sports
BEST IN HR DEVELOPMENT AWARD (up to 50 employees): CCP Recruitment

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Start-Ups to generate 756m in sales

Friday, March 7th, 2008

Enterprise Ireland backed 79 start-ups last year and expects these to generate 756m in sales. One expert (probably the Minister of ETE) commented “I do think that 2008 is a good year to launch a Business venture”

Would you launch a new business venture in the Construction Sector?

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Donseed Limited to create 26 jobs in Tralee

Tuesday, February 5th, 2008

Donseed Ltd announced last week (old news BUT good news) that it is investing 1.2m Euro at its Tralee base. This is great news for Tralee with the creation of 26 new jobs.

I am posting about this announcement as I have just arrived back from a business trip in the town BUT I also think these smaller job announcements often slip through the net. Most papers and media are putting too much emphasis on the negative jobs news as this is what is selling the papers. SME’s now account for a large % of employment in Ireland and I think this fact is often lost with all the emphasis on MNC’s.

Organisations should cosider regional towns as there are huge benefits such as skilled labour, reduced operational costs and cheaper coffee shops. By the way I recommend www.felspointhotel.ie as a place to stay.

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Posted in Jobs, Recruitment | 2 Comments »