Clonmel is at the heart of a fascinating life and business journey

In the latest of our series of interviews with Tipperary-based executives about working and living in Tipperary, Martin O’Connor talks with David Anchell, founder and Managing Director of Camida, based on the banks of The River Suir in Clonmel.

Incidents of chance play a defining role in all of our lives and will, more often than not, be a key determiner in who we are, who our family are, and will shape our network of friends, our communities and our careers.
It was such an incident of chance in 1976 – a moment on a bridge over The River Anner - that changed the life of David Anchell for ever, and with that, brought countless meaningful benefits to Clonmel, Tipperary, its communities, Irish industry and the global health sector.

David is the founder and Managing Director of Camida, a specialist in the sourcing and supply of raw materials and ingredients primarily for the pharmaceutical industry but with operations also in the industrial and food sectors. With over 300 customers including many of the world’s largest pharmaceutical companies, Camida has played an integral role in the development and production of some of the world’s leading drugs, including three of the world’s biggest - Atorvastatin (Lipitor), Sildenafil (Viagra) and a recently announced breakthrough drug for the treatment of obesity.
David’s story is both compelling and romantic.

It’s a life and business journey taken by a young 23-year-old who, as a newlywed, decided to up sticks and move to Ireland forty-seven years ago to make a new life; with his only assets being a small car and a ‘can do’ attitude.
A native of Maidstone, in Kent, England, David explains:
“I had always been desirous of living in the countryside, in a more rural community, and Kent, a pretty county, was getting busier, with growing industry and a growing population. I was not enjoying life and said to myself ‘I’m going overseas.’
“I’m hopeless at languages so I thought about Australia, New Zealand or Canada or - a place much closer - Ireland.

RURAL LIFESTYLE
“I thought that Ireland could be the place for me, as along with my desire for a rural lifestyle, I had a huge love for fishing.
“I was intrigued by fly fishing, and I always yearned for somewhere where I could do it.
“So, myself and my wife to be, Nikky, agreed that as soon as we got married, we would move to Ireland.
“In England I used to run a Scout troop and in 1976 I planned to bring my troop to camp in Ireland.

MULLINARINKA
“I had gone through the Irish holiday cottage book and wrote to about a hundred of them around Ireland and explained that we didn’t actually want a cottage, but that I wanted to bring my Scouts to camp and we’d be willing to pay ten pounds for the use of their land for a week. One of the places I had written to was in Mullinarinka at the foot of Slievenamon and they came back and said they couldn’t help us, but that there was a man down the road called John O’Donovan who was very much in to helping young people – the same John O’Donovan who was one of the most influential founding members of The Ladies Gaelic Football Association in 1974. He said we were very welcome to stay on his land. On the evening we arrived, I went down to the River Anner – I had brought my fishing rods with me - and as I leaned over the river from the bridge, a lady came along and joined me. She was Mary O’Donovan, the sister of John. We had a lovely chat and she said to make sure if we did move over that we get in touch with her. I caught a lovely two-pound trout, brought it back to the camp, cooked my trout and said to myself ‘this is the place for me’.

“That was the crunch in the decision-making process to move to Tipperary!
“Prior to moving to Ireland, I worked in the chemical industry in a minor way. I worked in a laboratory as a laboratory assistant. Before we left, I looked through the Golden Pages for chemical companies in Ireland and wrote to about a hundred companies saying ‘I’m coming to Ireland, I’d like a job please’!
“Later, it would transpire that one of the four companies that replied to me would ask me in for an interview and give me a job.
“We got married on 1st July 1977 and we moved to Ireland in our Austin A40 car on the 4th July 1977.
“When we arrived in Ireland, I contacted Mary and we stayed with her as a stopping point. We stayed a couple of nights.
“She then told us that she owned a house in Clonmel – 24 William Street – and that we were very welcome to have a room there for the longer term.

“So, these are the reasons why our company and myself and my family are here in Tipperary. Her brother John and other local farmers employed me on farms bringing in hay, painting barns etc for a few months. To get me through the summer until I found a permanent job
In a lovely aside, recently we had been contacted by Joe Leahy at C-Saw, the suicide prevention organisation in Clonmel, who had come to Camida requesting support to raise funds. We said yes, and included C-Saw in our Christmas donation initiative. They were raising money to try and buy their premises and I just happened to ask Joe where the premises were. He said ‘24 William Street’. So, many years after we had moved into 24 William Street, I found myself being able to help the establishment of C-Saw at my old home!”
Now settled in Ireland and raising a family, David held several sales roles in the chemical industry in Dublin and Munster over the next ten years.
When the company he was working for was acquired – and having built up a strong network of contacts in the industry - he decided that it was time go out on his own and he launched his own company, later to be branded Camida, on the 3rd September 1988.

I asked David about the benefits that being in Clonmel and Tipperary brings to Camida and family life. “The pharmaceutical industry in Ireland was encouraged by foreign investment from the USA. The Industrial Development Authority (IDA) did a fantastic job facilitating that and they are still doing a great job.
“If you draw a line from Shannon across to Swords in Dublin, almost all of the companies that had been attracted to set up in Ireland were, at that time, south of that line. If you look at Clonmel it is right in the middle of that area. It was chance. I’m here because I wanted myself and my family to be here, but the fact that it was right in the middle of that area became a strategic advantage.
“The UK economy is 20 times the Irish economy, but the Irish pharmaceutical industry is twice the size of the UK market and is valued at around €120 billion in exports. Again, largely because of that investment that the IDA managed.

YOUNG WORKFORCE
“Critically, at the time of that major investment in the sector in Ireland, fifty percent of our population were under twenty-five years of age and fifty percent or more were going to university. So, we had a hugely educated young workforce in the country who suddenly had an industry they could involve themselves in, a super new high-tech industry, and they didn’t need to go overseas to use their degree, they could use it here. They were sharp and ready to go.
“From a family viewpoint, the security that living in a more rural community gives you, you get to know people.
“My five children grew up with extremely close friends that are to this day very much part of their lives. People in this area get to know you and they support you and look out for you… and I believe strongly in loyalty to local people and the community.”
“I was aware that Camida are a significant supporter of community, cultural, sporting and charitable projects and his mention of loyalty to the community prompts me to ask about the company’s involvement in such projects.
“We have a basic philosophy; people say ‘you can’t help everyone who asks for help, you can’t say yes to them all ‘. I always say ‘why can’t you?”. We avoid the ‘can’t’ word’. If you are making profits and you have money to share, why can’t we share it as much as possible, so we give it a good old shot. We focus on the less fortunate members of society who really need support from others, often where children or younger members of society are involved. We also encourage our own people to bring projects to us that they have a connection with.

COMMUNITY SUPPORT
“In recent years we have been involved in over 100 community support projects. We are the Sponsor of the Tipperary Ladies football team and all the development teams on both football and hurling. A couple of weeks ago we were involved in organising a family angling day for the South Tipperary Autism Support Group.
“One of my colleagues, Clodagh Phelan, who was responsible for this initiative, told me of the joy she felt when she told the group we would be supporting the day. That’s priceless stuff, so important.
“As a company we want to be exceptional in everything we do. My dream is that we do everything so exceptionally well. But business success is not only about making money. Of course, that’s important by satisfying our customers and suppliers so that we earn a great reputation. Success is also making sure all our staff are happy so that they are motivated in their work and feel part of something good - sharing any success we get with the community. We gain from it as well because it gives a good feeling and it creates loyalty and support for us. All those things are things that I think we should aim for. And if we do that, we will be successful.”
I ask David for a personal business highlight.
“A key decision we made – as we felt it was the right one – was regarding our new offices. Our staff numbers were growing to our current amount of 65 and so we needed to move from our previous premises. The obvious thing to do may have been to go and build a brick-built place on the bypass but I think it would have been featureless, soulless. We so much more wanted to make us part of the town and involve ourselves in the town.
“The moving and the establishment of our new premises has been key because it brought us into the heart of Clonmel and the people of Clonmel have got to know us better and got to realise that we are doing something good.
“I think its amazing that that we are a small company on the banks of the River Suir and the world’s biggest pharmaceutical companies rely on us for their raw materials.

POTENTIAL
“I believe there is massive potential for Clonmel.
“Sometimes I think Clonmel, as a town, and Tipperary as a county, are under sung. We should cherish and praise it more. Its location, its people, its scenery. Look at what we have got here already; we have MSD, Boston Scientific, Abbott, Bulmers. Its huge for a town of our size to have those great employers.
“Plus, the river here is as good as any river in the world that I have fished on!”
I ask David how he would sum it all up? What’s his view now having gained the experiences that weren’t yet lived by that 23-year-old who arrived in 1977.
“In regards to my own life, Tipperary has been perfect for me
“When I started the company, I made a pledge to myself that I’m not going to do this unless its fun and I’ve tried to instil that in the company every day. If I’m walking through the office and I see people sitting down together having a coffee it thrills me, pleases me. We’re all in it together with the same aim of making it successful and that’s the biggest buzz for me, that it’s still fun and we’re good at what we do. I haven’t regretted anything; where I live, where my company is, where my home is. I’d never move away from Tipperary.”