Nominee: Donal O'Riain

Ecocem Ireland was founded in November 2000. It has invested €10 million in a greenfield plant in Dublin port, which commenced production last year of environmentally friendly cement.

By 2006, Ecocem Ireland will contribute to a reduction in CO2 emissions in Ireland of 270,000 tonnes per annum. It has two subsidiaries, Orcem in Holland and Ecocem in Ireland.

Products: The Ecocem cement product is ground granulated blastfurance slag (ggbs), manufactured from a recycled, industrial by-product of the steel industry.

Customers: It supplies to readymix concrete producers and precast concrete products.

Achievement: Ecocem is the industry leader in the manufacture and supply of environmentally friendly cement in Ireland. Outside of the electricity generation sector, Ecocem says it will make the most important, single contribution by an Irish firm to the achievement of our national Kyoto targets to reduce greenhouse gas emission.

How did the business idea first come about? Between 1987 and 1990, Donal O'Riain, managed a concrete producer in Spain and saw the high cost of cement supply. From this came an examination of alternative types of cement.

What were your immediate steps to make it happen? It took Donal O'Riain three years to establish partial supply arrangements with steel companies in the Netherlands, and a further three years to complete a second agreement. In Ireland, it took six years to establish a full supply arrangement.

How did the company identify its first customers to target? The first step was a phone survey, followed by meetings with customers. The other marketing tool employed was the set-up of a website - www.ecocem.ie

What sales practices work best in your experience? It is a classic industrial product market: price, technical performance and service are crucial. In the longer term the strategy is to reposition ggbs as a product sold on the merits of its specific characteristics: technical superiority, low environmental Impact and architectural features.

What advice would you give to a start-up entrepreneur? "Look after the downside and the upside will look after itself."