Northern firms 'foolish' not to exploit opportunities south of the Border

Northern Irish firms are foolish not to exploit opportunities in the Republic,according to the managing directors of a Co Down- based construction company which was named last week as the overall winner at the inaugural InterTrade Ireland awards.

Graham of Dromore, a family business which can trace its roots back over 200 years, was praised by the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, for showing "great initiative" with projects such as the Dundalk-Dunleer motorway and the Connolly Station office in Dublin.

The company also won the Large Business, North and South title at the trade awards last week which were established to mark North-South co-operation. "It is definitely an honour and is public recognition of the hard work of our people on the ground who are prepared to dig in and contribute to the company's success," said Graham managing director Mr Michael Graham.

In recent years, Graham has looked South for business opportunities, securing contracts at the Northside Civic Centre in Coolock for the Office of Public Works, the site clearance of Xerox in Dundalk and Barrow Street DART station. The company has also fitted out A-Wear stores across the State.

"In the last two or three years we would have increased our workload significantly in the South," said Graham. "With the boom we began to be able to successfully compete in the market, but it is no easier than the North. It is still competitive, but we have a great bunch of people working for us and that has helped".

He believes the new InterTrade Ireland awards are a positive step. "At the moment the amount of trade done between the two jurisdictions isn't as much as it could be. With such a big market on our doorstep it would be foolish not to exploit the opportunities. I think awards like these will encourage more people to branch out to compete in markets they may not have examined in the past".

Two electronics firms, Andronics and Renley, won awards last week in the small business category. Andronics, based in Co Derry, has developed an internet-based system for the remote monitoring of sewage treatment plant, while Co Kildare-based Renley manufactures a range of low-voltage products for used by electricity distribution networks. Nevadatele.com, the telecommunications group, won the best joint venture award, while the best tradeable services award went to The Internet Business. Computer Gym in Co Wicklow was the best community business.

InterTrade Ireland is the trade and business development body promoting trade between North and South.