One of Laois’s best small businesses, Hanlon Woodcraft Ltd will represent the Local Enterprise Office Laois at the National Enterprise Awards tomorrow in the Mansion House in Dublin.
Run by the 31 Local Enterprise Offices in the local authorities nationwide, the National Enterprise Awards are now in their 21st year and offer an investment prize fund of €40,000.
The Awards – a black-tie event hosted by Bryan Dobson – take place tomorrow in the Mansion House in Dublin and feature businesses from a variety of sectors.
The Local Enterprise Office Laois’s representative, Hanlon Woodcraft Limited was founded by Danny Hanlon – who is welin 2003.
The company manufactures bespoke kitchen and bedroom furniture. Strategically located off the M7 and M8 motorways in Ballacolla, makes their showrooms and factory accessible from all locations.
Their skilled staff can guide you through design, manufacturing and installation of all the products they have on offer. In 2018, the Innovation Award at the National Finals was won by Laois company, Cyc-Lok Ltd, from Graiguecullen.
Hanlon Kitchens won the Laois award a number of weeks back and are now in a regional category alongside the Kildare, Offaly and Westmeath winners as well as being in the running for various cash prizes in the overall categories.
Previous winners of the National Enterprise Awards include Irish Yoghurts (1998), Obelisk (2000), Simtech Aviation (2008), Digiweb (2004) and Design Pro (2013).
Last year’s winners, Terra NutriTech, are an AgTech company, backed by Local Enterprise Office Kildare.
Local Enterprise Offices Representative, Evelyn Reddin said; “The National Enterprise Awards are very much a benchmark for excellence for small businesses across the country. It is much more than just awards.
“The businesses involved avail of mentoring and guidance as the process develops and generate connections and leads from other businesses along the way.
“They also receive signposting for their business helping them to move their company forward, irrespective of whether they win an award.
“Those who do take part always see the benefit, our winners are now employing over 830 people and are exporting across the world with annual revenues in excess of €130million. The class of 2019 looks to be well prepared to follow in their path.”
The National Enterprise Awards are one of a number of initiatives that the Local Enterprise Offices run, to foster entrepreneurship across the country. Others include Local Enterprise Week, the Student Enterprise Programme, National Women’s Enterprise Day and Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneur (IBYE). The Local Enterprise Offices in local authorities are funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland
Established in 2014, the Local Enterprise Offices are the essential resource for any entrepreneur looking to start a business or any small business that is looking for support or advice to help them grow.
Since their inception five years ago, the Local Enterprise Offices have helped create over 18,000 jobs across the country.
The LEOs work with over 7,000 client companies across Ireland in a diverse range of sectors offering mentoring, training, expert advice and financial supports to small businesses. For more information see www.LocalEnterprise.ie
