Kerry firm 'third best in world'

A Kerry stock photo agency which in the mid-1990s became one of the first Irish companies to tap into the emerging potential of the internet has been ranked third best global performer in its field.

Stockbyte, the Tralee-based firm that boasts a 60,000 image library and a roster of clients including Cocoa Cola, Disney and hundreds of newspapers and magazines globally, copperfastened its standing as one of the world's most successful stock photo providers in a survey by Berlin royalty-free distributor Font Shop.

It was rated third in an analysis of picture quality and economic performance, behind market leader Digital Vision and Getty Photodisk, owned by Microsoft founder Mr Bill Gates

With a workforce of 40 in Kerry and more than 100,000 licensed users Stockbyte has proved a small Irish company can compete head-on with multinationals many times its size, said CEO Mr Jerry Kennelly. "It's proof that clever, creative people can take on the giants and win," he said.

A former freelance photographer and journalist, Mr Kennelly established Stockbyte in 1997 after re-mortgaging his home to secure start-up funding. A further $1 million in seed capital was later injected by Irish venture capital firm ACT in return for a 25 per cent stake.

The company does not disclose turnover but profits have grown steadily year on year, Mr Kennelly said.

A network of 50 contract photographers and production staff based as far afield as Cape Town, Miami and Australia supply Stockbyte with images that have featured in high profile advertising campaigns by Coca Cola and Disney Corporation.

Citing the development of CD-Roms and the internet as crucial to Stockbyte's evolution , Mr Kennelly said breakthroughs in technology had allowed the company to tap limitless global markets.

"Stockbyte was one of the first companies to engage in e-commerce. We were doing it when the rest of the country was just talking about it," he said.