The finalists in the SFA National Small Business Awards 2020 have
been officially announced by Sue O’Neill, SFA Chair and Chair of the SFA
Awards Judging Panel. The aim of the awards is to celebrate the
achievements of small business in Ireland, and to recognise the vital
contribution of the small business sector to Irish industry.
“The response to the awards programme serves as a reminder that Irish
small companies are resilient, putting their best foot forward and
seeking recognition for their efforts” commented Sue O’Neill. “As well
as our eight award categories, we also feature five of the best Emerging
New Businesses (less than two years established) and, given the quality
of the businesses represented this year, entrepreneurship is alive and
well in Ireland.
“The SFA National Small Business Awards are now entering their sixteenth
year and are a celebration of small business owners who in the past
five years created over 75,000 jobs. The 267,000 small firms in Ireland
employ half of the private sector workforce and these awards aim to
promote excellence, achievement and innovation amongst these companies
in all sectors and parts of the country. The companies that have been
announced as finalists this year represent all that is good about small
business” said O’Neill.
An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, TD, who is Patron of the Awards, stated that:
“Small and medium businesses make a huge contribution to the Irish
economy and the SFA awards are a fabulous and timely opportunity to
recognise the talent and innovation in the Irish SME sector.”
41 companies have been selected as finalists, from 12 different counties, across 9 categories.
MANUFACTURING CATEGORY FINALISTS (up to 50 employees), sponsored by NSAI:
KORE Insulation, Cavan
Big Red Barn, Mayo
Kells Traditional Timber Windows & Doors, Meath
Carlow Concrete, Carlow
Green Angel, Dublin
FOOD & DRINK CATEGORY FINALISTS (up to 50 employees), sponsored by Bord Bia:
Baggot Street Wines, Dublin
Food at Fishers, Wicklow
Kettles Country House Hotel, Dublin
The Tipperary Cheese Company, Tipperary
Camerino Bakery, Dublin
Ice Cream Treats, Cavan
SERVICES CATEGORY FINALISTS (up to 50 employees), sponsored by Vodafone:
Etag Fixings Ireland, Dublin
On-site Refueling, Dublin
Riverside Spa, Cavan
SimoTech, Cork
T&I Fitouts, Kildare
Hero Recruitment, Galway
OUTSTANDING SMALL BUSINESS FINALISTS (up to five employees), sponsored by One4All:
BusterBox, Dublin
Gill Opticians, Dublin
Scattery Island Tours, Clare
Smart Business Analytics, Westmeath
Mattress Mick, Dublin
Child Paths, Dublin
INNOVATOR OF THE YEAR FINALISTS (up to 50 employees), sponsored by Permanent tsb:
Big Red Barn, Mayo
Equine MediRecord, Kildare
Ice Cream Treats, Cavan
Terra NutriTECH, Kildare
Woodco Renewable Energy, Tipperary
Zevo Health, Dublin
Sustainability FINALISTS (up to 50 employees), sponsored by Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland:
KORE Insulation, Cavan
MBSL, Dublin
Vivid Edge, Dublin
Shoe Lane Coffee, Dublin
EXPORTER OF THE YEAR FINALISTS (up to 50 employees), sponsored by Enterprise Ireland:
Carlow Concrete, Carlow
IMS Marketing, Galway
Smarter Surfaces, Dublin
Adams & Butler, Dublin
BusterBox, Dublin
Big Red Barn, Mayo
WORKPLACE WELLBEING (up to 50 employees), sponsored by DeCare Dental:
Interactions, Wicklow
Guardian Safety, Dublin
IMS Marketing, Galway
AVCOM, Dublin
EMERGING NEW BUSINESSES (up to 50 employees and under 2 years in business), sponsored by IE Domain Registry:
Vitztronics Smart Solutions, Kildare
Buildtech, Dublin
Soothing Solutions, Meath
The Salt Rooms, Meath
Vanguard Health Services International, Dublin
The Awards prize package for ALL finalists includes participation in the
SFA Business Connect event on February 6, 2020, a strategic management
masterclass weekend, as well as broad-ranging national and local media
coverage, all valued at €50,000. Finalists also receive five
complimentary tickets to the gala prize giving ceremony which will take
place in the RDS on March 12, 2020 when the category winners and overall
winner will be announced.
The category winners will be presented with a trophy and free membership
of the Small Firms Association for one year. The overall winner will
also receive a bursary of €5,000 to present to a charity of their choice
(funded by the 2013 Overall Winner, Megazyme International Ireland).
