Every worker a winner for LotusWorks
The firm’s directors credit their highly skilled engineering and tech staff, who now number more than 500, for its success in winning the Best Managed Companies Gold Standard award this year
August marked an important milestone for LotusWorks, the Sligo-headquartered supplier of engineers and technicians to manufacturers worldwide.
“For the first time in the history of the business, we exceeded 500 full-time staff in our company, increasing our talent from 444 in August 2020 to 562 in August 2021,” Gerard Sproule, director of LotusWorks, said.
“Alongside the increasing talent employed by the business in the past two years, we have successfully retained all clients and established new business with major manufacturers in Europe and the US, opening a new office in Boston, Massachusetts.”
In business since 1989, LotusWorks has a turnover of more than €65 million and is well positioned to sustain growth in the years ahead with a diversification strategy spanning services, sectors and geographies.
There is significant demand for the engineering capability delivered by LotusWorks in both Europe and the US, according to Sproule. “We’re proud of the company’s growth, considering it has been achieved against the backdrop of the huge challenges the Covid-19 pandemic has caused for the operational aspect of the business.”
For Emer Conroy, another LotusWork director, one of the biggest challenges brought about by the pandemic was the sudden nature of its emergence worldwide in early 2020.
Eighty-five per cent of the people employed by LotusWork are essential workers. Protecting their safety was a priority for the company.
“We focused on strategies to balance the immediate needs of our employees and our clients and implemented new communication channels to process the changing requirements across the various sectors we work in,” Conroy said.
“We’re an agile organisation, our strategic planning process is flexible and our decision-making is fast. Those strengths stood to us as the levels of uncertainty rose in the early months of the pandemic.”
Reacting “quickly and competently”, LotusWorks collaborated with clients to stabilise operations and assure employee safety.
“We prioritised a few key indicators within the business to protect our talent and deliver our solutions. Decisiveness led to a high level of resilience within the company,” Conroy said.
LotusWorks has now been named as one of 17 newly crowned Gold Winners in Ireland’s Best Managed Companies awards programme.
The programme runs on a three-year cycle. Winners in year one are eligible to requalify for years two and three by undergoing a requalification process. To qualify for a fourth consecutive year, requalifiers must complete the entire two-phase application and adjudication process afresh.
If, like LotusWorks, they succeed, they achieve the Best Managed Companies Gold Standard.
“Internally, successfully achieving the Best Managed Companies Award, and doing so on consecutive years, really boosts team morale,” Conroy said.
“It builds trust and confidence in our ability to execute strategically and allows us to celebrate that success. More importantly, it is independent recognition for our hard working and dedicated team.”
Involvement in the awards programme also has other benefits. “The application evaluation process focuses on our performance and business plan,” Conroy said.
“It means that, annually, we are stepping back from our operational analysis and looking at our performance and success against the key pillars in our business strategy.
“It is very beneficial to have someone outside the business benchmarking us and the management team on an annual basis.”
The programme also offers successful applicants the opportunity to network with fellow winners. “Networking with other successful Irish businesses provides us with new and different perspectives,” Conroy said.
“We learn from the other businesses in the programme and Deloitte share their superb knowledge and expertise with all the Best Managed Companies. Access to that level of knowledge helps shape our growth strategy annually.”
Founded in 1989, LotusWorks was acquired three years ago by Conroy, Sproule and James Casey, all of whom had been senior managers with the company.
Supported by a robust management team, they are the principals now responsible for LotusWorks’ ongoing growth and strategic development.
The company employs 562 full-time technical and engineering professionals who execute “scopes of work” for clients in the pharmaceutical and biologics, semiconductor, medical device and data centre sectors in Europe and North America.
LotusWorks’ engineering and technical teams specialise in commissioning, calibration, operations and maintenance.
“We add value to our clients through a partnership approach focused on challenge resolution and improvement implementation,” Conroy said.
“The majority of our business is in sustaining facility operations on a full-time basis, but LotusWorks also supports major manufacturers on a short-term basis for new facility builds with commissioning expertise.”
Conroy put LotusWorks success in Ireland’s Best Managed Companies awards programme down to the dedication of the company’s skilled workforce.
“The Gold Standard recognition award would not have been possible without the commitment and expertise of our management team and engineering staff,” she said.
“This award celebrates and recognises that commitment and hard work, so we are delighted to accept it on behalf of all ‘LotusWorkers’. We all want to work safely daily and also achieve success and gratitude for the work milestones we meet.
“Everyone who works within the business is making a significant and lasting impact and effecting positive change. Our engineering talent provides a higher quality of client care, safety, compliance and operational excellence.
“We are proud of our very long-standing relationships with major manufacturers and we will continue to work hard to maintain and grow the solid relationships we have with many major multinationals.”
