Galway firms take Business Awards

Four Galway companies celebrated success at the Connacht final of the Ulster Bank Business Achievers Awards, which took place last week at The Clayton Hotel.

Revive Active Products, Caragh Precision, Lifes2good and Green Earth Organics join four other Connacht winners to progress to the national final in December to compete with winners from Munster, Leinster and Ulster.

A total of 627 companies entered this year’s Awards – the highest number ever, including 62 Connacht businesses.

Revive Active Products, who won the Business Start Up Award, was established in Galway in January 2011 by Dáithí O’Connor and Liam Salmon. It designs, manufactures and markets innovative health products.

The winner of the Established SME Award went to Caragh Precision. The company, established in 1982, is a manufacturer of precision engineered products for the medical device industry, specializing in orthopedics, structured heart and vascular access products.

The company works closely with medical device manufacturers globally, assisting in all stages of the product lifecycle from concept realization to volume manufacturing. Based in Galway, Caragh Precision employs 90 staff.

The International Business Award was scooped by Lifes2good, a global health and beauty business, marketing and distributing a portfolio of exclusive and clinically proven brands across Europe, the Americas, the Middle East and Asia.

With over 90 employees, Lifes2good is headquartered in Ballybrit, and has sales and marketing operations in London, Chicago, Madrid, Lisbon, Toronto, Mexico City, Sydney and Istanbul.

The Agri-Business award went to Green Earth Organics, an online organic retailer, delivering customised vegetable and other product orders locally and nationwide. Customers register and order online for direct delivery, and can avail of a range of products from fresh vegetable produce to preserves, condiments and other organic products.

As well as farming on 18 acres of organically certified land at its base in Corrandulla, Green Earth Organics buys produce from other Irish suppliers, and also imports organically certified fruit and vegetables to provide a full selection of year-round produce.

The business was established in 2006, and currently has six full time and six part time employees.