Naas Agri-food business awarded certificate in World Class Energy Management Standard
(L-R: NSAI Chairperson James Kennedy, Neil McCoy, Kenneth Elliott, Barry Brophy and Minister Pat Breen TD. Picture: Conor McCabe)
By Kim O'Leary
Staff at the Queally Group, a food processing and manufacturing firm based in the Maudlins, are celebrating after achieving certification to ISO 50001, a key international energy management standard.
One of the world’s most popular business standards, ISO 50001 for Energy Management can help an organisation to reduce its energy usage, and therefore its greenhouse gas emissions and energy costs.
The Queally Group site in Naas is involved in the manufacture and supply of a range of cooked, fermented and dried meat ingredients, filled and unfilled fresh & frozen pasta, ready to cook protein meal solutions, fresh and frozen natural stocks and culinary sauces in a variety of pack sizes & and formats.
The site also provides cold storage internally and to group companies and third parties.
The company, which employs 950 people, received its ISO 50001 certificate at a special presentation ceremony at the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) offices in Dublin.
“ISO 50001 is recognition for the journey that the Queally group has embarked upon to ensure that we are sustainable in our methods of manufacturing and practices,” said Kenneth Elliott, Project Engineer at the Queally Group.
All of the organisations who achieved certification were independently audited by NSAI inspectors in order to ensure they complied with the standards.
They join an elite group of over 3,000 organisations who are currently NSAI-certified in a variety of areas such as Quality Management Systems, Environmental Management Systems, Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems and Energy Management.
The 25 organisations honoured at the ceremony have offices or facilities in 15 different counties and were presented with their certificates by the Irish Minister for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, Pat Breen TD.
“Achieving certification to the highest level is no easy feat, especially for SMEs, given the level of commitment needed and time required to do so,” said Minister Breen.
“But the benefits are undoubtedly worth it. Standards improve efficiency, helping organisations to conserve money, manpower, time, facilities, and natural resources. They also help in breaking down trade barriers and open doors to new markets,” he added.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony, NSAI Chief Executive Geraldine Larkin highlighted the importance of businesses using standards in uncertain times.
“The question for industry is not what you gain from standards and certification; it's the business opportunities lost without them,” said Ms Larkin.
“Globally recognised standards such as ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and now ISO 45001 provide you with instant credibility: they differentiate your products, services and business,” she added.
NSAI invites members of the business community and the general public to get involved in the development of standards by visiting the Your Standards, Your Say web portal on www.nsainep.ie . All standards