Buoyant property sector dominates but list not confined to bricks and mortar

The booming property sector and spin-off industries are dominant among the nominees for the industry award in this year's Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year competition.

But the list is not confined to the bricks and mortar brigade; the nominees also include companies in the high-tech, food and horticultural industries.

Prominent among the runners are John Ronan and Richard Barrett of Treasury Holdings. Well-known for a string of prominent developments in Dublin, their ambitious in project in Shanghai will their biggest yet. Ray Grehan of the Glenkerrin property group and developers Mark and Noel Elliott of Cavan firm P Elliott & Co are also in for the award.

Tony Woods of Midland Steel Reinforcement Supplies makes tailor-made reinforcing steel bars for the construction business. After establishing a strong business in the Republic and north of the Border, his next aim is to break into the British market.

Fergal Broder represents Sligo group Lotus Automation, which provides instrumentation, automation, engineering and construction services to process and manufacturing industries in Europe and the US. The company employs 300, 170 of them in Ireland. Following the establishment of its US unit, it has made three acquisitions in that market.

Also in the running is Declan Gallagher of Donegal bread company, Gallagher's, which makes the French Mill Brand variety of par-baked bread.

Some 80 per cent of his products are supplied to the frozen market and they last for up to a year. The products are sold by Spar, Superquinn, Dunnes and Tesco.

Dermot McElroy and Ciarán O'Donoghue of IQon Technologies also supply supermarkets but they don't do food. They make PCs and laptops in Co Louth and sell them throughout Europe and traditional retail outlets and online. Thomas Walsh runs SAP Holdings, which produces ornamental trees for and shrubs for wholesale, landscape and garden centre markets.

Turnover will be in excess of €30 million this year and its trees can be seen on the redeveloped O'Connell Street in Dublin.