Kilkenny business in action at National Enterprise Awards today

An environmental company from Grannagh in County Kilkenny is one of the finalists for the National Enterprise Awards taking place today in the Round Room at the Mansion House in Dublin.

CHI Environmental will represent Local Enterprise Office Kilkenny at the prestigious awards along with 30 other LEO client business from across the country. This family-run business is the only EPA licenced site that collects and recycles a range of construction and demolition waste materials in the South-East. By pioneering a circular-economy business model and recycling waste materials into usable products, private, commercial and Local Authority customers can divert waste from landfill and help achieve environmental targets.

Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council Pat Fitzpatrick praises CHI Environmental for their achievements to date and said the National Enterprise Awards provides an opportunity to highlight the achievements and contribution of small business and showcase their success. These enterprises are based in our cities, local towns and rural communities and are making strides in areas such as business growth, turnover, employment, new product development, environmental protection and innovation.

Aileen McGrath, Acting Head of Enterprise with the Local Enterprise Office Kilkenny added: “The National Enterprise Awards serve to highlight the very best businesses that the Local Enterprise Offices are working with across the country. The diversity of sectors and innovation shown again this year is outstanding and the winners will no doubt produce businesses destined for international success. These finalists have shown outstanding resilience to get to where they are today and we are looking forward to celebrating with them at the awards”. 

The finalists compete for a prize fund of €50,000 and along with an overall National Enterprise of the Year winner there are categories for Best Start-Up, Best Export Business, an Innovation Award, a One-to-Watch Award, and a Sustainability Award. There is also an Outstanding Achievement award for a business that started with their Local Enterprise Office and has gone on to achieve international growth with the assistance of Enterprise Ireland. Previous Kilkenny winners at the National Enterprise Awards include the Mechanical Modular Solutions Ltd and MyBio Ltd. 

The National Enterprise Awards are one of a number of initiatives that the Local Enterprise Offices run, to foster entrepreneurship across the country. Others include Local Enterprise Week, the Student Enterprise Programme, National Women’s Enterprise Day, and Local Enterprise Showcase. The Local Enterprise Offices in local authorities are funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland.