Best Managed Company awards: requalifiers

A line-up of previous winners who have qualified for their awards again this year

Michael Burke Managaing Director of Chanelle Pharma at their Loughrea facility in Co. Galway. Picture: Michael Dillon

Best Managed Companies Awards programme winners are eligible to apply to requalify for the award for two years following their initial win. Eighty-five companies representing a broad range of sectors in the North and South have successfully requalified this year. Here are this year’s requalifiers profiled.

2468 Group

Founded in Ireland in 2003, 2468 Group designs and delivers coffee, snacking, water and washroom solutions which provide the foundations for employee wellbeing to over 9,000 customers. Their mission: to be the “service partner of choice”.

Abbey Group

The Abbey Group is a collection of travel companies based in Dublin, Edinburgh and London. Established in 1978, the group is owned and managed by a team of experienced travel professionals, dedicated to selling the destinations of Ireland and Britain to the worldwide travel trade on a B2B basis.

Ace Express Freight

Ace Express Freight is one of the leading family owned freight and logistics companies in Ireland with 30 years’ experience and a network of world-class partners. It is the freight and logistics partner of choice for companies which require seamless imports and exports and a personal customer service that is second to none.

Acorn Life

Acorn Life, which is part of the Acorn Life Group, is a 100 per cent Irish-owned life assurance company offering protection, pensions, savings and investment solutions to the Irish public. Acorn Life has assets under management of €857 million at the end of 2020 and premium income €116 million during the year.

ActionPoint

ActionPoint is an award-winning digital transformation consulting and services company. Headquartered in Limerick, the firm is renowned for the delivery of highly innovative software and IT solutions across the public and private sector. ActionPoint is a ‘Gold Standard’ Deloitte Best Managed Company and a five-time Deloitte Fast 50 winner.

Barry and Fitzwilliam

Barry and Fitzwilliam premium drinks distributor represents an exceptional portfolio of international brands. The company carries over 120 premium wines, spirits and beer brands. Operating from extensive warehousing and administration facilities based in Cork and Dublin, Barry and Fitzwilliam is committed to effective nationwide distribution with a distinct emphasis on customer care.

Beannchor Group

Beannchor is a leading independent owner/operator of hotels, bars, pubs, restaurants and nightclubs in Ireland.

Burnside Eurocyl

Burnside Eurocyl is a hydraulic cylinder manufacturer based in Ireland. It specialises in the design, manufacture and sale of customised hydraulic cylinders for OEMs in the earthmoving, mining and construction equipment market. More than 95 per cent of the company’s output is exported, with its main markets being in Europe, North America and China.

ByrneLooby

ByrneLooby is an award-winning international engineering firm. Its engineers take complex problems and use critical thinking to navigate past any obstacle. Its team of specialists across eight sectors – geotechnics, water, buildings, marine, civil engineering, environment, temporary works and conservation – have the expertise necessary to contend with any assignment.

Campion Insurance

Campion Insurance was established in 1984 and has grown to become one of the largest insurance brokers in Ireland. It has a team of dedicated professionals across 12 offices and is an industry leader in a wide variety of sectors including business, farming, bus and coach, car, home, health and life and pensions.

Cavanaghs of Charleville

Cavanaghs of Charleville is a Ford dealership with branches in Charleville and Mallow. Set up as a Ford dealer by Tom Cavanagh in 1966 along with sites in Fermoy and Cork city, the dealership occupies a prime 3.5 acre roadside site in Charleville town employing 50 people, with a further ten at its Mallow branch.

CDE

CDE exists to create a better world through bold engineering in the waste recycling and natural minerals processing sectors. Wet processing equipment is CDE’s sole focus. As a leader, CDE is always customer-focused, relentlessly innovating with a single purpose in mind: to create its best world, a ton at a time.

Chanelle Pharma

Chanelle Pharma is a partner of choice in the development and manufacturing of pharmaceutical products to the world’s leading human generic and animal health multinationals and distributors. It is passionate about understanding and addressing the challenges facing its customers and bringing them innovative and effective products and solutions.

Clune Tech

Clune Tech (formerly Taxback Group) was founded in 1996 when a simple favour for a friend unlocked the potential for global expansion. Since then, the group’s portfolio of companies has grown and evolved and now comprises experts in global payroll, tax returns, promotional management and cross border payments.

CMS Distribution

CMS Distribution is a leading independent value added distributor specialising in taking emerging technologies to market while growing established brands using a range of value added services. It empowers remarkable people to exceed customer expectations through the continual pursuit of service excellence and the delivery of the most innovative technologies.

Collins McNicholas Recruitment and HR Services Group

Collins McNicholas was established in 1990. Today it has a nationwide presence with offices in Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick, Sligo and Athlone. Its success is based on strong company values and a commitment to the consistent delivery of exceptional recruitment and HR services to clients and candidates.

Combilift

Martin McVicar, founder and chief executive, Combilift in Monaghan. Picture: Barry Cronin Photo by Barry Cronin

Founded in 1998, Combilift produces a range of innovative and customised handling solutions. It generated revenue of €307 million in 2020, 98 per cent of this through exports to 85 countries, with 60,000 units sold to date. Combilift employs 650 staff at its factory in Monaghan with 7 per cent of turnover invested in R&D.

Combined Facilities Management

CFM is 45-plus years in business, providing integrated building services to a wide range of public and private sector clients. With a large multi-skilled workforce, it delivers works across the following operating divisions: social housing, mechanical and electrical, facilities management, and construction and fit-out.

Delmec

Delmec believes that synergy shapes success. Working collaboratively, it engineers a smarter way to build and manage telecoms tower infrastructure, seamlessly connecting people and businesses to the world. Its partners trust it to deliver the insights and engineering expertise they need to succeed, optimising value from their tower assets.

Demesne Electrical Sales

Founded in 1977, Demesne Electrical Sales is a leading Irish-owned industrial electrical importer and distributor. The company imports and distributes only the highest quality products from international brands such as Schneider Electric, ContaClip, Fibox and Iboco, to name but a few.

Denroy Group

Denroy provides design and engineering services, specialising in plastic injection moulding and composite structures to the aerospace, automotive and defence sectors. The company also produces the Denman range of hairbrushes and a range of PPE masks and equipment under the Denpro brand.

Drover Foods

A family owned business located in Wexford, Drover is a manufacturer of ready-to-eat food ingredients for the B2B sector, mainly in Britain. Drover’s core business was producing pork based product but in recent times it has pivoted into the world of plant based food ingredients.

Enet

Ireland’s largest open access network provider, Enet is building and operating the largest alternative wholesale telecoms network in Ireland. This is facilitating the delivery of affordable, world-class broadband and wireless services to homes and businesses on a nationwide basis.

Ergo

For over 25 years Ergo has excelled at the intersection of business and technology, the sweet spot where organisations get to shape their strategy and set course for the future. It builds responsive solutions and creates environments where renewal is the default position for a fast-changing world.

EWS

ESW is the cross-border e-commerce leader, empowering the world’s best-loved brands to make global shopping better, safer, simpler and faster. From compliance, data security, fraud protection, taxes and tariffs, to checkout, delivery, returns, customer service and demand generation, its powerful combination of technology and human ingenuity covers the entire shopper journey.

Fexco

Fexco connects people and businesses across the world through innovation in payments, foreign exchange, business solutions and an ambition to grow new opportunities.

Fitzers Catering

Fitzers Catering Limited is a wholly owned Irish company reinvesting all of its profits back into Ireland. Fitzers has been and always will be a proud supporter of buying and supplying Irish. The company strives for each and every event, and each day, to exceed the expectations of the venue and customer.

Flynn

Flynn is a dynamic team of construction and fit-out professionals delivering high quality buildings and interiors made to last, and attracting ambitious and innovative projects all across Ireland, England and northern Europe

Frylite

Frylite aims to be “the natural choice” supplier and collector of vegetable oils and food waste for restaurateurs, caterers and the food industry, while helping them to reduce their carbon footprint. Delivering exceptional service, quality and value for money, continuously investing in its people, systems and communities, it aims to enhance its reputation as the industry leader.

Garvey Group

Garvey Group was founded in Dingle, Co Kerry in 1935. Tomas Garvey took over the family business from his parents in 1967. The company is now one of the largest operators within the Supervalu/Centra brand and operates the award-winning Dingle Skellig Hotel and Dingle Benners Hotels.

Glenisk

Glenisk is an award-winning family business, three generations in the making. It produces the #1 Yogurt in Ireland along with a range of organic, goats milk, no-added sugar and high-protein products. Its mission is to create the healthiest foods in the most sustainable way, now and for the generations to come.

Gourmet Food Parlour

Gourmet Food Parlour opened 15 years ago with the aim of serving a range of quality, artisan dishes, using simple locally sourced ingredients, but serving it in a fun, relaxed way. The group has grown to include eight locations across Dublin and Galway as well as a large catering event business.

HandK International

HandK is a leader in the provision of integrated kitchen equipment and service solutions to the restaurant and retail industry worldwide. It has long-standing global relationships with customers including McDonald’s, Burger King and Subway. The company has 13 operations globally and employs 1,700 people, selling kitchenware to over 20,000 restaurants.

Heat Merchants Group

Heat Merchants Group is an Irish owned company with over 300 employees, trading as Heat Merchants and Tubs and Tiles. The group is Ireland’s leading supplier of plumbing and heating products, bathrooms, showers, tiles and renewable energy solutions.

Henderson Foodservice

Henderson Foodservice (incorporating BD Foods and Foodco) is a leading supplier to the food service and hospitality catering industry in Ireland and part of the Henderson Group of companies. The strength of the company is upheld by its focus on delivering quality and service excellence to customers.

Herlihys Supermarket Group

Herlihy’s Centra is a family owned group of Centra stores in Cork. The group prides itself on delivering a superb fresh food offering, a friendly service and actively participating in the communities it retails in.

IITC

IITC is a diverse supplier of agricultural/building hardware, steel, wire, salt, plumbing and bathroom supplies. The business is headquartered in Cork, and its primary markets are the repairs, maintenance and improvements market along with the construction, food processing, agriculture and pharmaceutical sectors.

Insomnia

Insomnia Coffee Company is Ireland’s leading independent coffee chain. It has grown from a single location in a Galway bookstore in 1997 to 169 stores and 500 self- service machines in Ireland, Britain, the UAE and Taiwan.

Irish Dog Foods

Irish Dog Foods is a pet food manufacturer of own-label and branded dry food and pet treats for pet speciality retailers, wholesalers and discounters across the globe. Currently its main growth focus is on development of the American market for its snack business with a focus on new product development and sustainability. The Pet Food business has seen remarkable growth in recent years despite recent recessions and Covid pandemic.

Joe Duffy Group

The Joe Duffy Group is a leading motor retail group. It has 23 nationwide locations representing 17 brands in Ireland and includes a sub-brand ZuCar with three used-car experience centre locations. The group employs over 510 people in Dublin, Athlone, Navan, Drogheda, Limerick and Cork.

Johnson and Perrott

Johnson and Perrott Motor Group, an Irish family owned company established in 1810, is a leading provider of automotive services headquartered in Cork city. The group offers a wide range of services across motor dealerships, fleet management and commercial vehicle short-term hire and contract hire.

Kestrel Foods Limited

Kestrel Foods Ltd is a family-run business at the forefront of the market for premium dried fruit, nuts and snacks, with an innovative portfolio under its Forest Feast and Acti-Snack brands. The company continues to push boundaries in the agri-food sector, using innovation to better meet consumer needs.

King and Moffatt Building Services

King and Moffatt Building Services is an award-winning international mechanical and electrical contractor with over 40 years’ experience in delivering projects successfully to the construction industry. Its in-house design, energy services and maintenance capabilities mean it maintains early engagement with clients and offers best-in-class asset management.

KSG

KSG is a specialist food and café services company with a mission to deliver excellence in food and culinary service. KSG is a dynamic, flexible and vibrant organisation, delivering restaurant, café and hospitality services in 120 locations across Ireland.

KTL

KTL is recognised as a leading provider of engineering services to the telecommunications and utility sector, working primarily with mobile network operators, electricity network operators and equipment vendors. KTL has grown significantly over the last numbers of years in Ireland and Britain.

Label Tech

Label Tech was established in 1992 and since its inception has become Ireland’s largest independent label producer. The company has become well known for its staff’s exceptional knowledge and expertise, collaborating with customers and printing with the latest technology available in the marketplace.

Learning Pool

Since 2006, Learning Pool has been working with clients to deliver online learning solutions that drive performance and generate results. Passionate about innovation and first-class customer service, its expertise has enabled it to implement positive change for over 800 organisations around the world.

LED Group Robus

Headquartered in Ireland, LED Group Robus is a leading global LED lighting company, selling through the Robus brand name. Robus has a proud reputation for first class customer service and market leading products, serving domestic, commercial and industrial customers. It aims to be customers’ most trusted LED lighting brand.

LWA Group

A unique mix of four marketing communication companies, all helping brands deliver great marketing campaigns that push them to reach their own business objectives. LWA Group offers creative marketing solutions across a wide and ever growing area. TAP Creations works in customer experience design; Pluto on experiential, shopper, digital and activation; Newco Video Taxi delivers broadcast quality video content in a completely different way. All of these are based in Ireland, while the fourth company, ZPS – which specialises in marketing, product and packaging solutions – is based in the UK.

Mainline Group

Mainline provides a diverse range of services including the design, build, operation and maintenance of utility infrastructure; in-home service solutions; and turnkey wind and solar energy solutions.

Mash Direct

Mash Direct is an innovative farming enterprise run by the Hamilton family – Martin, Tracy, Lance and Jack – at their family farm in Co Down close to the shores of Strangford Lough. They grow and produce quality, convenient ‘field to fork’ vegetable and potato dishes ranging from mashed potato to croquettes. All products are gluten free and suitable for microwave or oven reheating.

McArdle Skeath

McArdle Skeath offers a unique service portfolio of supply-chain solutions including outsourced solutions to clients who require cGXP compliant warehousing services. The firm obtains the necessary licences from relevant regulatory authorities and deploys its teams who design, plan, build and operate in line with the needs of its clients.

McAree Engineering Works

McAree Engineering is a third-generation family business operating out of three factories in north Co Monaghan. Employing over 170 people, it is one of Ireland’s leading sheet metal fabrication companies.

McCue

McCue is a project management and fit-out company with experience across a wide range of sectors including retail, hospitality, hotels, leisure and marine. Over the last 65 years, it has gained a reputation for delivering craftsmanship of the highest calibre through its fit-out and in-house bespoke joinery team.

Modular Automation

Modular Automation designs and builds innovative automation solutions for the world’s leading MedTech manufacturers. Leaning on decades of experience, Modular’s team of 170 engineers collaborate closely with their clients, supporting them on the automation journey as they transition to smart methods of manufacturing that drive productivity and manufacturing efficiencies.

Morgan McKinley

Morgan McKinley is a global professional services recruitment consultancy that connects specialist talent with leading employers across multiple industries and disciplines.

Mount Charles

Mount Charles is Ireland’s largest locally owned food service, cleaning and support services provider, servicing over 400 clients across Great Britain and Ireland with 2,500 colleagues. It has shown strong growth in Ireland recently including contract wins with Tesco Ireland, the Office of Public Works, the Department of Health and Glanbia.

Musgrave

Established in Cork in 1876, Musgrave is a retail, wholesale, food service and food export business. In 2021, it celebrated 145 years in business. Together with its retail partners, it supports 41,857 jobs and operates 11 brands across the island of Ireland and Spain.

National Chemical Company

Founded in 1969, NCC is a leading raw material and sourcing specialist, supplying materials to the pharmaceutical, medical device, food and industrial sectors. NCC’s excellent track record and in-house experts ensure that clients receive consistently compliant products and services that have full supply chain traceability, meeting the highest global standards.

Northern Hydraulics

Northern Hydraulics Ltd is a family-owned precision engineered manufacturer of hydraulic cylinders, which supplies some of the largest OEMs in Ulster and throughout the island of Ireland and Great Britain. Its cylinders are designed and manufactured directly to customer specifications.

NPP Group and Combind

NPP Group and Combind is Ireland’s leading source of bespoke flexible packaging, specialist tapes, strapping and corrugated products, along with ancillary machine and equipment, supply and maintenance. Operating from newly constructed premises in Dublin 11, the business has grown steadily over its 37 years to become the market leader in industrial packaging.

People 1st

People 1st is an award-winning employment and learning organisation which offers a range of government funded training, employment support initiatives and corporate training solutions in the public and private sectors throughout the North and the Republic of Ireland.

Portview Fit-Out Limited

Portview’s purpose is to be the fit-out company of choice for valued clients, creating legacy spaces that all involved can be proud of. Operating with professionalism and integrity, it uses the latest technology to protect and develop its workforce, and honour its social responsibilities as a business in the 21st century.

Portwest

Portwest develops and manufactures protective workwear designed to keep customers safe when working in hazardous environments. Established in 1904, Portwest has become a global presence with over 4,500 employees, eight distribution warehouses and four fully owned manufacturing facilities that produce 30,000 garments every day.

PRL

Built on 88 years’ experience of partnership, reliability and leadership, PRL provides clients with customised outsourced sales, marketing and logistics solutions. Its skilled team and advanced infrastructural capabilities make PRL the partner of choice to deliver innovative services across diversified markets, ensuring brand success for its clients.

Roche’s Feeds

Roche’s Feeds is a fifth-generation company that has been serving the Irish farming community for over 140 years. Customer satisfaction is achieved by having the right product and service delivered on time, by a very professional and dedicated workforce who believe in their customers and their requirements.

SalesSense International

SalesSense is a sales and customer services partner company founded in 2006 and now serving the Irish, British and US markets. It designs and builds a competitive edge for each partner client to increase market penetration, sales and customer satisfaction while its quality processes ensure strong customer retention.

Seopa

Seopa operates the Quotezone.co.uk and CompareNI.com price comparison websites in the UK for insurance, utilities and financial products, as well as providing the core technology behind the price comparison services for some of the UK’s leading money-saving, technology and media brands.

Sonas Bathrooms

Sonas Bathrooms is a leading provider of quality bathroom products. It sells through a network of trade resellers throughout the country, including retail bathroom showrooms and builders merchants. With over 40 years of experience its team carefully selects each collection to create the perfect balance of style and performance.

Sonica

Founded in 2013, Sonica is an award-winning construction company with over 60 employees and offices in Dublin, Cork, Belfast and Germany. It provides clients with uncompromising excellence in all the services it offers. The company also offers facilities and property services through its subsidiary Preempt.

Surecom Network Solutions

Surecom is a trusted collaborator in the telecommunication industry. It works with Ireland’s top network operators, data centres and multistorey offices to connect businesses. It captures value for customers through excellence in engineering and project management delivery.

Tazbell Services Group

Tazbell is a leading Irish outsourcing company engaged in a range of activities for various public and private sector clients across Ireland. Tazbell’s portfolio of outsourcing services creates value and drives performance by reducing operating costs while enhancing the customer experience.

TES

TES, founded in 1999, provides water and power technology engineering expertise, specialising in critical infrastructure. An ambitious, innovative organisation, it offers specialist services to the water/power industries worldwide. Young, progressive, responsive and driven by client needs, it operates on the cutting edge of technology.

The Ard Rí Group

The Ard Rí Group is an ambitious international manufacturer and distributor of quality affordable homeware products. Its 680-strong team across Ireland, Britain and Asia helps it to deliver top class customer service to a trusted network of over 1200 retailers across Ireland and Britain.

Toga Group

One of the longest established freight forwarders in Ireland, Toga Group includes Toga Freight, a major force in Britain-to-Ireland logistics and Toga Customs, one of Ireland’s largest customs clearance brokers. The two divisions combine to provide the most efficient post-Brexit freight solutions from Great Britain to Ireland.

Tour America

Tour America was set up 26 years ago from Mary McKenna’s sitting room with a team of three. It is now Ireland’s number one tour operator to the USA and best seller of cruises worldwide. Tour America turned over €21 million in 2019; it has 50 staff and offices in Dublin, Cork and Orlando.

TTM Group

TTM Group incorporates two firms. TTM Healthcare is a world-class, Irish-owned recruitment company which specialises in placing highly skilled candidates in healthcare organisations across Ireland, Northern Ireland and Britain. Resilience is a national leader in providing specialist advanced community care and social care services.

TVM

Cork based TVM is a leader in TV outside broadcasting (OB). A one-stop broadcast facilities company with a proven track record of first-class services, it provides high spec OB trucks, specialised equipment, talented crew and the latest technological solutions to a wide variety of national and international clients.

Viatel

Viatel is a leading independent, Irish-owned provider of corporate connectivity and cloud solutions. Employing 160 people, it operates a national and international network alongside a premium data centre facility. A proud Guaranteed Irish member and Deloitte Best Managed Company, Viatel partners with many well-known businesses and respected public sector bodies.

Vizor Software

Vizor Software is a global technology provider that is trusted by financial regulators and tax authorities in over 30 jurisdictions across the world. It specialises in providing supervisory data collection solutions (SupTech) for central banks and financial regulators, helping them to supervise and provide effective oversight with high-quality data.

Walls Construction

Walls Construction is one of Ireland’s leading building contractors with a proven track record in a diverse range of sectors including residential, commercial, healthcare and education. Its reputation has been built by undertaking projects that deliver the best outcomes for their stakeholders: clients, design teams, contracting partners and employees.

WaterWipes

WaterWipes was created in 2008 by Edward McCloskey, whose new-born daughter suffered with sensitive skin and nappy rash. In response to this, he set about creating a wipe with no chemicals. WaterWipes are now sold in over 50 countries worldwide and the firm employs 400 people globally.

Wilsons Auctions

Wilsons Auctions is the largest independent auction company in Britain and Ireland, with the expertise to manage the whole asset realisation process for any category of asset. Established in 1936, significant growth and national coverage has helped it achieve a current annual hammer total of £390 million across 3,000 auctions.

Sean Sheehan, chief executive, Wisetek. Picture: John Allen Photo by John Allen

Wisetek Solutions

Wisetek provides reverse logistics, IT asset disposition and manufacturing services to the IT, electronics and data centre industries. Its ITAD (IT asset disposition) service offerings focus on enabling customers to achieve maximum economic value from their redundant IT assets while ensuring environmental compliance. Service offerings include data sanitisation and managing all aspects of the IT returns process.

Zeus Packaging

Zeus has developed a market leading position through determination, passion, commitment and the desire to succeed. A can-do culture vibrates throughout the group, coupled with a strong sense of purpose to innovate sustainable, quality packaging solutions that meet the needs of modern-day consumers.