ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR: International services is a major growth sector for the economy, proving that Irish business can challenge competitors anywhere in the world.
The diversity and ambition of this emerging niche is reflected in the nominees for the Ernst & Young International Services Entrepreneur of the Year award.
The Entrepreneur of the Year awards are organised in association with The Irish Times and RTÉ, and are supported by Enterprise Ireland and Shannon Development.
Category winners will be announced at an awards ceremony in the Burlington hotel, Dublin on September 25th. The overall winner will be selected at the same event and will go forward to represent Ireland at the World Entrepreneur of the Year event in Monte Carlo next year.
Last year's winner was Mr Padraig O'Ceidigh, managing director of Aer Arann.
The nominees for International Services Entrepreneur Of The Year are:
Michael Burke, managing director, Chanelle group:
The Chanelle group, based in Loughrea, Co Galway, manufactures veterinary and human pharmaceuticals. It also supplies Christmas crackers through a subsidiary called Krackajack.
A qualified vet, Mr Burke set up his first animal health centre in 1978. In 1983, Chanelle introduced its own brand of veterinary medicines and began exploring overseas markets. Chanelle diversified into the manufacture of human pharmaceuticals in 1995.
In 986, Mr Burke formed Christmas cracker maker Krackajack in Loughrea.
The Chanelle workforce has doubled in the past 18 months to 275 with a further 90 working in Krackajack. Turnover rose by 19 per cent to more than €31 million in the last financial year.
Joe McBreen, managing director, Connaught Electronics Ltd:
Dr McBreen is the majority shareholder and founder of Connaught Electronics Ltd (CEL) and CELtrak Ltd.
Established in 1982, CEL designs, develops and manufactures innovative turnkey solutions for the automotive industry. It employs 220 people with 16 in research and development. Clients include leading firms such as BMW, Ford, Jaguar, Sumitomo, MG Rover, Volvo, Magna/Donnelly and Thermo King.
CELtrak, established in 1999, is a pioneering technology company and the Republic's only telematics service provider (TSP), offering remote monitoring services of vehicles and driver performance. Principal applications of the technology include fleet management, tracking and logistics, control, risk management and read time monitoring of vehicle and consignments. CELtrak employ's 16 people with six in R&D. Customers include AXA Insurance, Thermo King and many haulage companies.
Jonny Parkes, managing director, Electric Paper: Mr Parkes has guided Electric Paper through a period of sustained growth over the past five years, culminating in its €15.5 million acquisition by ThirdForce last March.
Following moves into Britain and Australia, Electric Paper is expanding its business globally and has produced versions of its products in Arabic, Chinese and Spanish for major contracts in the US, the Middle East, China and Latin America.
Mr Parkes believes the next generation of platforms for e-learning delivery may not be restricted to the PC and the company is developing content for mobile devices and digital TV.
Seán Melly, chief executive, eTel: Mr Melly returned to Ireland from New York in 1994 to establish TCL Telecom, later acquired by global firm WorldCom.
In 1999, he established eTel GroupCentral, one of eastern Europe's major corporate telecommunications service providers. With a 30,000 customer base and annual revenues of more than €100 million, eTel operates throughout Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.
Mr Melly previously worked in international banking, specialising in corporate finance. Through his company Powerscourt Investments, he is also a shareholder in a range of start-up companies in the high-tech and telecoms sectors, including Prime Carrier and eWare.
Gerard J. Barry, chief executive, Fintrax Group: Fintrax Group is a leading international financial services company and a key player in worldwide tourist refund services and international credit card payment systems.
Mr Barry, who founded the company, has invented a number of first-to-market solutions.
Having held various management posts in British and US multinationals, Mr Barry developed the cashback tourist tax-refund concept after starting his own consultancy in the mid 1980s. By 1990, he had expanded the concept to Europe and later sold the Irish operation to fund expansion in continental markets.
He subsequently re-entered the domestic market with T/A Global Dutifree Ltd. Three years ago, he relocated the company's headquarters to Ballinahown, Co Galway, and renamed it Fintrax.
Employing 170 worldwide, the business posted 5 per cent growth last year and reported before-tax profits of €2 million. Clients include Gucci, Chanel, Lladro, Mango, Christian Dior and Lacoste.
Leonard Ryan and Michael O'Rourke, joint managing directors,
Setanta Sport: Setanta Sport is a global sports broadcaster and diversified sports media company, with offices in Dublin, London, San Francisco and Sydney.
Founded in 1992 by Mr O'Rourke and Mr Ryan, Setanta broadcasts key sports events worldwide, including GAA, soccer and World Cup Rugby.
In 2000, it expanded its content distribution business into television production, publishing, mobile content and webcasting. Recently, the company launched NASN, the 24-hour US sports network available in Britain and Ireland, in partnership with Vulcan, the venture capital fund run by Microsoft co-founder Mr Paul Allen.
Setanta is preparing to set up a European sports channel in the US, and a free-to-air sports channel on Freeview, the fast-growing UK digital terrestrial platform. Core turnover in 2003 will exceed €23 million.
Liam Shanahan, managing director, Shanahan Engineering:
Shanahan Engineering specialises in project and construction management, technical field services, and oil and gas operations. It has offices in Dublin, Japan and the US, and employs 200.
Clients include Mitsubishi, General Electric, Marubeni Siemens, Westinghouse and Hitachi.
Project locations include the Middle East, China, Angola, Venezuela, the US, the Dominican Republic, Britain, Spain, Nigeria, Russia, Malaysia and Argentina.
The company is also involved in windfarm development in Ireland.
Peter Conlon, chief executive, Xsil:
Established in early 2002, Xsil provides laser micro-machine systems for high-volume manufacturing in the semiconductor industry. The firm was established by Mr Peter Conlon, former chief executive of MVT Ltd. It employs 120 and is expected to generate revenues of around €47 million in 2003.
Xsil's enabling technology provides high throughput production capability for cost-effective, chip-free dicing and drilling in silicon. The firm is headquartered in Dublin, with offices in the US, Britain, Japan, Taiwan and Korea.
