Gold Winner Frylite: Making the most of waste

Sustainability is where it’s at right now, and every business knows the importance of adopting an environmentally friendly policy, but some businesses go a step further and place it at the very heart of what they do.

Frylite Solutions is one such company. As Ireland’s leading cooking oil, waste oil and food collector, circularity is at its core as it provides a complete oil management system to the catering and food manufacturing sector across the island of Ireland.

With a staff of 290 people, the firm has more than three decades of experience and was the first company in the country to collect used oil and food waste to generate renewable energy. Frylite services 8,500 businesses across Ireland with 20,000 deliveries per month. It was these attributes that resulted in the company, which has locations in Strabane, Coleraine, Lisburn, Dublin, Cork and Galway, being approached to join the Ireland’s Best Managed Companies Awards Programme. Now it has been named as a winner and Declan Morgan, its managing director, believes there are a number of reasons the company stands out.

Providing opportunities

“Fundamentally, we see Frylite Solutions as one big family — we offer secure job opportunities with lots of career scope,” he said. “We deliver on promises and have built our reputation in the industry as being reliable, high quality and a trusted supplier. Frylite invests in its people and offers a variety of in-house and outside courses to allow them to reach their full potential. But regardless of the role, there are opportunities for personal development including structured training in Communications and Interpersonal Skills, Customer Service Skills, and Leadership potential. Every employee has a vital contribution to make to ensure the ongoing success of the business through attention to detail with our customers.”

Respect and relationships

“At Frylite Solutions, we respect each other, our customers, and the environment,” Morgan said. “We also work with integrity, friendliness, and professionalism to meet the demands of all in a continuously changing industry. We work as one team to deliver our promises to build strong relationships with our customers, employees, and suppliers, to understand their needs and meet their demands. We also strive for excellence in everything we do and aim to set the standard, so our service has a reputation for high-quality products delivered by way of exceptional service at all times. And although we work hard as one team, we each play our own part in delivering on our customer promises, with efficiency, safety, care, ownership, and a sense of pride.”

Delighted with the accolade, Morgan said the company has seen several benefits from being a part of the programme.

Recruitment boon

“Participating in the Ireland’s Best Managed Company process has helped us with our customers, recruitment, and our strategy,” he said. “We know that our customers are looking to partner with companies who are committed to excellence. And we also know that potential employees research our business and find the fact that we are accredited as a positive element, which shows that we have high employee impact standards.

“In addition to this, our existing employees, and potential talent externally, are aware that it is part of our brand, which is great for employee engagement and talent attraction. It has also led to an increase in strategic awareness across the group.”

The managing director says participation in the programme has also delivered a number of unanticipated benefits.

Broad recognition

“Everyone in the company now displays the Ireland’s Best Managed Companies logo in their emails and in all correspondence and it is clearly displayed on our website,” he said, “which has led to us regularly getting positive comments on the achievement from customers and stakeholders as well as new and existing employees.

“Ireland’s Best Managed Companies has also embedded in the firm a standard of excellence and a feeling of pride. It has also raised the profile of Frylite on the island of Ireland and created an employer value proposition in terms of attracting and retaining talent.

“My advice to other companies applying to the programme would be to bring a team together with a cross representation from the business and use the mentors that are available to support and guide. As well as being beneficial, it also makes you take an honest look at your business.”

Sustainability commitment

For the future, Morgan said that Frylite Solutions has an unwavering commitment to sustainability in terms of its impact both societally and environmentally.

“We have an ambitious strategy across our pillars of People, Planet and Performance. We are committed to continuing to provide the highest quality, best tasting cooking oil to the catering and food industry and to help our industry become fully circular. Our commitment is to our people and the communities we operate in, and this continues with employee and community engagement programmes.”