Athlone farm technology firm up for national business innovation award
Farmeye, an Agri-tech company based in Athlone, has been named as one of the finalists in the Small Firms Association (SFA) National Small Business Awards 2023, which take place in Dublin's RDS next March.
The company, which started out in Taughmaconnell but moved into offices in Athlone's Inish Carraig Business Centre this year, provides soil management software to pasture-based agriculture.
Eoghan Finneran is the co-founder and CEO of Farmeye, which is a finalist in the 'Innovator of the Year' category at the SFA awards.
This category is open to businesses of up to 50 employees, and in addition to the Athlone company the other finalists are: Zeus Scooters (Carlow), Moffett Automated Storage (Monaghan), ROCTEL (Dublin), and Woodco Renewable Energy (Tipperary).
Farmeye recently announced the appointment of Wicklow man Patrick Murphy as its head of software engineering.
"We are delighted to have Patrick (already known as Paddy in the office) on board, and the impact of his presence has been immediate. Paddy gels very well with our team and steps into this critical role at a crucial time in our fast-paced development," said the company in a statement.
Another company in Westmeath - the Mullingar-based beverage packaging company Bevcraft - was named as a finalist in the 'Exporter of the Year' category. Offaly's eco-friendly print and graphic design company The Factory, which is based in Fivealley, between Birr and Kilcormac, is also among the finalists, in the 'Sustainability' category.
All of the finalists are being invited to take part in a strategic management masterclass weekend in January, as well as an SFA Business Connect event at the Aviva Stadium next February.
Finalists also receive five complimentary tickets to the Gala Prize Winning Ceremony to take place in the RDS in March, when category prize winners and the overall winner will be announced.
The category winners will be presented with a trophy and free membership of the Small Firms Association for one year.Sue O'Neill, chair of the SFA awards judging panel, said: "The response to the awards programme is a reminder that Irish small companies are resilient, putting their best foot forward and seeking recognition for their efforts.
"Given the quality of the businesses represented this year, entrepreneurship is alive and well in Ireland," she added.
"The SFA National Small Business Awards are now entering their 19th consecutive year and are a celebration of small business owners.
"The 270,000 small firms in Ireland employ nearly half the private sector workforce and these awards aim to portray excellence, achievement and innovation amongst these companies in all sectors and parts of the country."