Exporters' body chief paints a bright picture

It would not be everybody's dream job to take over as head of an exporters' association at a time when economies are in a sharp downturn but Mr Brian Ranalow sees it as a challenge. The newly elected president of the Irish Exporters' Association, says: "It's a downturn which will last six to 12 months. The US economy fundamentally is very strong. Until the US picks up, we won't see a pick-up in Europe, I think.

"If one uses the stock market as a guide of business confidence, it seems to be bottoming out but no brave forecaster is going to say whether it will be the second or fourth quarter of next year when we will turn up the heat again to get back to where we were.

"I am optimistic but it's going to take some time. There are lots of solid businesses out there, working hard and very productive, and the consumer demand is remarkably solid. It's encouraging."

In the Republic, while sectors like computers and telecoms, tourism and speciality foods may be badly affected in the short term because of recession and movements of the euro against the dollar and sterling, it could be cathartic, he believes.

"Maybe there will be a return to a greater sense of reality.

"I don't think anyone would deny that Ireland in the last five years had a wonderful boom, so economic progress has been fantastic. In some ways, it could be argued that we have lost the run of ourselves. The sudden decline in growth maybe will allow us to pause for breath and get focused on key issues such as performance and competitiveness, where maybe we were not to the forefront in the last few years, and value for money.

"Having efficient competitive internal services in the country also is important to exporters. Due to the demand we have had in a very high-growth period, the value for money hasn't been there and maybe there will be a much greater focus on value and performance when there isn't so much business around."

He believes that an association like his may have a more important role to play in the bad times than good, providing information on exports to its members and lobbying the Government on their behalf.

Lobbying is a major function of the Irish Exporters' Association and, with the Budget coming up, Mr Ranalow has his shopping list prepared:

continuation of the reduction in taxation;

accelerated infrastructural development, including projects like the Dublin port tunnel and roads;

development of the broadband;

the availability of power supplies;

the removal of the cap on PRSI payments; and

relief on corporation tax.

But his interest in exports is not confined to his public position. As one of the partners and chief executive of H&K Europe Ltd, he is a substantial exporter himself.

H&K, a privately held company, operates in 70 countries, has annual sales of around $200 million (€224 million), and is one of the biggest manufacturers of complete restaurant kitchen systems for quick-service food chains. Its most important customer is McDonalds.

H&K is essentially Irish-run and managed, with the corporate management team all Irish-based. It was started in Canada by a former McDonalds' manager who was lured to the Republic by IDA Ireland in 1978 and established a manufacturing operation on the Cherry Orchard Industrial Estate in Dublin.

Mr Ranalow joined the company in 1985 to run the European operation and became chief executive of the group worldwide in 1991. The non-executive chairman, his partner Gerry Griffith, is based in Dallas. Today, around 100 of the 750 employees are in the Republic.

"We're one of two global suppliers of kitchen equipment to McDonalds - that defines our kind of business. They want very high standards. If you're in our kind of business and you're one of McDonalds' major suppliers, you have to say very little more - top quality, top performance, there is no other way you stay there. It's a demanding kind of business.

"Half of our business still is in the US and Europe. More recently, we have set up in Australia and we're also manufacturing in Indonesia and expanding quite rapidly into Asian/Pacific markets," he says.

Australia he has found a super market and manufacturing in Indonesia has been very successful. Future expansion is planned into Malaysia, Thailand, Taiwan and Singapore.

While the group plans to "gird its loins" for the next 12 months, he says it will be looking seriously at acquisitions after that in allied areas but "we will stick more or less to the knitting. Probably it's not a bad time for looking for acquisitions because I think valuations may be a little more reasonable in the present economic climate than 18 months ago."

Mr Ranalow comes across as anything but a tough international businessman. Relaxed and low-key, he believes in focusing on the right things and worrying about the right things and not getting uptight about things that are not so important. And he credits his management team with helping to achieve this.

"We have built up a good team, which takes the pressure off me. We have a great bunch of people."

All key managers are in their mid-30s, he says. "My business philosophy is to focus on good people and demand high levels of performance from people, and giving them responsibility at an early age and letting them run with it, rather than trying to hold them back and control them. To use a football analogy, if you can get lots of good strikers out scoring goals for you, you can be the sweeper making sure the business is kept on an even keel.

"We're in a business where we're exporting, selling into different cultures. It's exciting and challenging for these people. Once you get into your 50s, travel becomes tougher, your body doesn't take it as well. To be honest, you lose your enthusiasm for learning new cultures and languages. In your 30s, you have an appetite for that sort of thing."

Not that he has given up travelling himself: he goes to the US every couple of months but thinks that, in the short-term, many business people will chose teleconferencing rather than travel, not because of fear of flying but because of the delays for security checks. "It's not a substitute for face-to-face meetings and spending time with people but in terms of regular communications, we will be trying to keep air travel to a reasonable level."

Born in Cork - he believes the name is a corruption of Ranelagh - he was brought up in Ennis. Educated at Newtown School in Waterford, he did mechanical engineering at Trinity College, Dublin. After a stint at the Lucas research centre in Birmingham, he worked with APV and Turner before joining H&K.

Not a lot of mechanical engineers display an artistic side, even if they possess it, but Mr Ranalow does. "I am happiest when out buying pictures, whenever my wife lets me. She says we've covered enough walls."

Certainly, there are lots of impressive and interesting pictures on the walls of his Leeson Street home but he says some of the best pictures came from his wife's family collection.

Elsa is Spanish, from near Alicante, where, after years of staying with relations, they have now bought a house.

They met in Dublin 30 years ago and have been married for 29 years, with a son Stephen, who has just finished law in TCD, and a daughter, Elena, who did business also in TCD and works for a telecoms company.

Not only does he collect pictures, but he paints - "expressionist landscapes would be the best description" - and, in the view of his peers, paints very well.

Mr Pat Murphy, chairman of the Arts Council brought the Contemporary Art Society to see them and they made him have an exhibition. "I was suddenly launched as an artist before I knew where I was.

"A lot of my pals were flabbergasted and came and bought my pictures. It's fabulous when people see what you do and like it. It's not so much for the money but people liking what you do."

And he also has the insecurity of many artists - you won't immediately see many of his own works in his reception rooms.

"Modesty doesn't allow me to hang me at this level," he says.