Five Midlands businesses will get a chance to exhibit their businesses to almost 300,000 people at the National Ploughing Championships in Ratheniska, County Laois, next month. The businesses will feature in the Local Enterprise Village, which houses over 30 small businesses and will be located at the centre of this year’s National Ploughing Championships from the 17th to September 19th.

Le Skinny Chef at the launch of the Local Enterprise Village

Among the five and representing Laois is Le Skinny Chef. No stranger to the National Ploughing Championships, Le Skinny Chef is Aymar Gourdet, a French multi-award-winning chef and restauranteur. Aymar specialises in French-Irish Fusion Cuisine. The delicious Irish Wild Garlic & Chilli Sauce is available now at SuperValu.

Liam and Dani Kavanagh

Representing Longford is Cruach Design – With six years on the go, the bespoke landscape and sculptural metalwork is made by the husband-and wife team, Liam and Dani Kavanagh, in Longford. They created a strong foothold as a supplier and service provider to businesses in construction, food processing, and architectural metalwork while also working on community projects. Cruach, meaning ‘steel’, is their sustainable material of choice

Offaly‘s Network & Infrastructure Support will showcase their comprehensive range of IT services for businesses, organisations, schools, and homes throughout Ireland. With over twenty one years of experience, N.I.S. Ltd provides proactive support and remote monitoring services to ensure that preventable problems are avoided, while maximising server and network performance.

Fore Distillery is one of two small businesses representing Local Enterprise Westmeath. Fore Distillery is a new craft distillery producing it’s own golden rum, white rum, poitin, and whiskey. Located close to the picturesque village and Fore Abbey in County Westmeath, they offer guided tours and tastings, with the ‘Barrel and Bean Cafe’ on site. According to Leah Cleary, designer & marketing executive, “At Fore Distillery, we are thrilled to attend the National Ploughing Championships as part of the Local Enterprise Village. This small business initiative is such a valuable opportunity for us to showcase the brand and retail Fore Valley alcohols! We look forward to seeing everyone there.” Read more from our feature on Fore Distillery here

TAPiTAG at the Athlone Chamber Awards

TapiTag is the other business representing Westmeath. TAPiTAG manufactures award-winning digital business cards and proximity marketing tags. TAPITAG’s solutions are used globally by over 30,000 users in seventy countries by leading corporate companies including AlB, Allianz, Deloitte, and UEFA. Their products are made and shipped from Athlone.

Kieran Comerford, Local Enterprise Offices and Head of the Local Enterprise Village, said; “This is an opportunity like no other for a small business in Ireland. The opportunity to bring their ideas and products to almost 300,000 potential customers is a showcase like no other. The Local Enterprise Village has become one of those areas everyone wants to drop into to find their local business and see what they can pick up.”

Since their inception eight years ago, the Local Enterprise Offices have helped create over 25,000 jobs across the country. The LEOs work with thousands of client companies across Ireland in a diverse range of sectors offering mentoring, training, expert advice and financial supports to small businesses. For more information see www.LocalEnterprise.ie