Future Proof: Padraic George, Cheetah Electronics

Carlow-based Cheetah Electronics was founded by electrician Jim George in 1974 to manufacture electric fences to contain livestock.

Brought up on a farm, he started his business by travelling all over Ireland collecting faulty electric fences and repairing them. He subsequently designed and started to make his own fences, producing his first units from a caravan in the back garden. His wife Maire ran the administration side of the business from the kitchen table while rearing four children.

Today the company employs 11 people and has about 60 per cent of the electric fence market here. It has also branched out into other areas such as LED lighting, a power tool battery re-cell service and water management. However, electric fence manufacture for the domestic market still accounts for about 75 per cent of its sales.

More recently Cheetah has turned its attention to growing the bespoke LED side of its business and its water management systems. Leading the charge is electronics engineer and son of the founder, Padraic George, who has been running the company for the past six years.

“My Dad was very ‘hands on’ in the business from the design and engineering perspective,” he says. “He was constantly coming up with new designs and looking at ways of improving and upgrading our products from a practical point of view.

“He didn’t try to expand into export markets because he believed you needed to be close to your customers if you’re producing a critical product. You have to be there to provide back up. We sell mainly through the co-ops and Cheetah is a very trusted local brand.

“Of course, the company has experienced difficult times during its history when farming was suffering, but we’ve coped with that by scaling back on costs.”

The company’s customers are primarily in the agricultural, equestrian, commercial and industrial sectors, and include Dairygold, Glanbia, Connacht Gold co-operative and most recently Irish Water.

“Our focus has always been on producing durable quality products that perform well in difficult conditions,” George says. “For example, our LED lighting is made with a robust steel frame housing that makes it suitable for use in harsh environments. The lights are also IP 68 rated, which means they can work under water.”

The company broadly divides its manufacturing year in two. Fencing is largely produced during the summer months while lighting products are made during the winter.

George is working on a new LED product that will bring the company into a brand new sector – the fitness market. “It’s an LED light for people who run or train in the dark,” George says. “It will be ready for market this year and will be a reflective guiding light to keep them safe at night.”

With water conservation and management fast becoming a national preoccupation, George was also keen for Cheetah to start spreading its wings wider in this emerging market. Water management has been an area of interest for him for some time and, just over a year ago, he set up Cheetah Telemetry to develop this side of the business.

“Water is very much part of the rural environment in which we operate and is a really good fit with our other business areas,” George says. “Telemetry is the remote monitoring, recording, alarming, analysing and reporting of data on a 24/7 basis 365 days of the year without the need for a physical presence at the location. So it’s ideal for rural and remote areas.

“We are developing a data recording, transmission and processing system that will give our customers full ownership of and access to a water solution that suits their needs. Our system is highly automated and will work in even the most inaccessible places. We have already fitted our system to a group water scheme in Cavan and there are 30 loggers transmitting data back to a central location.”

Cheetah Telemetry is buying key parts of its system from French company Sofrel, which has been making telemetry devices for the past 30 years.

“We are customising the French water model to suit the Irish water market with the aim of producing the best possible device,” George says. “There is a lot of rubbish out there and we believe that developing a top-class unit will open up export markets to us.

“Initially we will target the UK water authorities and Northern Ireland Water, but this is a product that can travel anywhere,” he adds.

“Potential customers will be rural group water schemes, local authority housing and industry. We are getting to a point in society where all the water consumed will have to be accounted for – we can’t keep ‘losing it’ to leaks and other wastage. According to recent figures, we lose over 40 per cent of water in Ireland.”

George believes that the recent diversification into water management systems will ensure his family’s business survives for another 40 years.

“The demand for reliable, remotely controlled monitoring equipment is only going to grow,” he says.

“In addition there are possibilities for us in areas such as waste water monitoring and indeed our system could be programmed to send flood warning alert texts.”