Connacht Tribune
Galway electric stairs company bucks Brexit to grow in UK market
A Galway man who has cornered the market with his inventive electric attic stairs is to reveal how he has managed to buck Brexit and grow his company on the lucrative UK market.
Peter Morrow always had a dream to start his own business was able to make this dream come true after he took redundancy in 2011.
So with his two business partners, he founded Loftease Attic Stairs Ltd, working from a shed in North Galway, as they fine-tuned the design of their Skylark Electric Attic Stairs for two years, before releasing it into the UK and Irish markets.
The Skylark fully electric attic stairs – manufactured at their base in Killaloonty outside Tuam – means there is no more heavy lifting or trying to reach over your head to pull down a rickety old ladder, with no manual effort needed, works with ease by remote control.
And despite the economic uncertainty on the back of Britain’s vote to pull out of the EU, Peter and his company have continued to thrive through reinvention – a story he will recount at a public event as part of Local Enterprise Week.
When Brexit was announced in 2016, Loftease had 18 agents in the UK, working in a market which comprised 90% of sales.
From September 2015 until June 2016, sales were steadily increasing every month, – and then the door closed, as 80% of the sales stopped and everything slowed down.
“We had to look elsewhere; we could not wait for the UK market to pick up. We had bills to pay, so we turned to the US, as our US patent for the Skylark Electric Attic Stairs had been granted in August 2016,” said Peter.
“Now eight months on from Brexit we are happy to report that our product has been launched in the US, through a large US based company and sales in the UK are back to where they were in February 2016,” he added.
Part of the tie-in to Local Enterprise Week is the fact that Loftease has received financial supports from the Galway Local Enterprise Office to set up the business, as well as LEO support for export trips – and Skylark also took part on the Lean Launch management development programme.
Local Enterprise Week runs from March 5 to 10, with Peter’s insight into adapting for survival is one of the highlights of an event entitled ‘’How will BREXIT affect your business and our Region’ in the McWilliam Park Hotel, Claremorris on Friday week, March 10.
The LEO has also announced a series of exciting initiatives aimed at stimulating business activity throughout Galway city and county and assisting those who are currently planning to export or are already exporting to the UK.
The ultimate aim being to create jobs among small businesses and also to encourage those with a business idea to pursue their dream.
Other key events during LEW include an Introduction to Tendering with Intertrade Ireland, which takes place in the Clayton Hotel next Wednesday, March 8, from 9am to 1pm; and Social Media for Business, taking place in Letterfrack next Monday, March 6, from 10am to 12pm.
For the full calendar of events, more information or to book an event please check out: www.localenterprise.ie/galway or (091) 50 90 90.
Significant state investment is required to address ‘shocking’ inequalities that leave cancer patients in the West at greater risk of succumbing to the disease.
A meeting of Regional Health Forum West heard that survival rates for breast, lung and colorectal cancers than the national average, and with the most deprived quintile of the population, the West’s residents faced poorer outcomes from a cancer diagnosis.
For breast cancer patients, the five-year survival rate was 80% in the West versus 85% nationally; for lung cancer patients it was 16.7% in the west against a 19.5% national survival rate; and in the West’s colorectal cancer patients, there was a 62.6% survival rate where the national average was 63.1%.
These startling statistics were provided in answer to a question from Ballinasloe-based Cllr Evelyn Parsons (Ind) who said it was yet another reminder that cancer treatment infrastructure in the West was in dire need of improvement.
“The situation is pretty stark. In the Western Regional Health Forum area, we have the highest incidence of deprivation and the highest health inequalities because of that – we have the highest incidences of cancer nationally because of that,” said Cllr Parsons, who is also a general practitioner.
In details provided by CEO of Saolta Health Care Group, which operates Galway’s hospitals, it was stated that a number of factors were impacting on patient outcomes.
Get the full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.
Galway 3-18
Cork 1-10
NEW setting; new opposition; new challenge. It made no difference to the Galway minor hurlers as they chalked up a remarkable sixth consecutive double digits championship victory at Semple Stadium on Saturday.
The final scoreline in Thurles may have been a little harsh on Cork, but there was no doubting Galway’s overall superiority in setting up only a second-ever All-Ireland showdown against Clare at the same venue on Sunday week.
Having claimed an historic Leinster title the previous weekend, Galway took a while to get going against the Rebels and also endured their first period in a match in which they were heavily outscored, but still the boys in maroon roll on.
Beating a decent Cork outfit by 14 points sums up how formidable Galway are. No team has managed to lay a glove on them so far, and though Clare might ask them questions other challengers haven’t, they are going to have to find significant improvement on their semi-final win over 14-man Kilkenny to pull off a final upset.
Galway just aren’t winning their matches; they are overpowering the teams which have stood in their way. Their level of consistency is admirable for young players starting off on the inter-county journey, while the team’s temperament appears to be bombproof, no matter what is thrown at them.
Having romped through Leinster, Galway should have been a bit rattled by being only level (0-4 each) after 20 minutes and being a little fortunate not to have been behind; or when Cork stormed out of the blocks at the start of the second half by hitting 1-4 to just a solitary point in reply, but there was never any trace of panic in their ranks.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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GARDAÍ and the IFA have issued a joint appeal to all road users to take extra care as the silage season gets under way across the country.
Silage harvesting started in many parts of Galway last week – and over the coming month, the sight of tractors and trailers on rural roads will be getting far more frequent.
Inspector Conor Madden, who is in charge of Galway Roads Policing, told the Farming Tribune that a bit of extra care and common-sense from all road users would go a long way towards preventing serious collisions on roads this summer.
“One thing I would ask farmers and contractors to consider is to try and get more experienced drivers working for them.
“Tractors have got faster and bigger – and they are also towing heavy loads of silage – so care and experience are a great help in terms of accident prevention,” Inspector Madden told the Farming Tribune.
He said that tractor drivers should always be aware of traffic building up behind them and to pull in and let these vehicles pass, where it was safe to do so.
“By the same token, other road users should always exercise extra care; drive that bit slower; and ‘pull in’ that bit more, when meeting tractors and heavy machinery.
“We all want to see everyone enjoying a safe summer on our roads – that extra bit of care, and consideration for other roads users can make a huge difference,” said Conor Madden.
He also advised motorists and tractor drivers to be acutely aware of pedestrians and cyclists on the roads during the summer season when more people would be out walking and cycling on the roads.
The IFA has also joined in on the road safety appeal with Galway IFA Farm Family and Social Affairs Chair Teresa Roche asking all road users to exercise that extra bit of care and caution.
“We are renewing our annual appeal for motorists to be on the look out for tractors, trailers and other agricultural machinery exiting from fields and farmyards,” she said.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App
Download the Connacht Tribune Digital Edition App to access to Galway’s best-selling newspaper.
Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Or purchase the Digital Edition for PC, Mac or Laptop from Pagesuite HERE.
Get the Connacht Tribune Live app
The Connacht Tribune Live app is the home of everything that is happening in Galway City and county. It’s completely FREE and features all the latest news, sport and information on what’s on in your area. Click HERE to download it for iPhone and iPad from Apple’s App Store, or HERE to get the Android Version from Google Play.
Families queue up for school’s offer of free house
West has lower cancer survival rates than rest
Galway minors continue to lay waste to all opponents
Gardaí and IFA issue a joint appeal on summer road safety
Marathon Man plans to call a halt – but not before he hits 160 races
