Mullingar-based Watt Footprint have taken home the National ‘One to Watch’ Award at the National Enterprise Awards 2023. Watt Footprint is an innovative tech-enabled energy management service company delivering significant energy savings for businesses.

The Midlands also took home a Regional Award, with Offaly’s Glass Innovations taking home the Mid-East Regional Award.

The region was well-represented at the Awards held in the Mansion House, Dublin, with the 4 winners of County Enterprise Awards for the Midlands offering the perfect snapshot of the innovative SME’s which are at the heart of enterprise in the region. As part of National Enterprise Week, the Local Enterprise Offices in Laois, Longford, Offaly and Westmeath each awarded their County Enterprise Award Winners for 2023. The four winners went on to represent their counties, and the Midlands region, at the National Enterprise Awards.

National ‘One to Watch’ Award – Westmeath’s Watt Footprint

Paul O’Reilly took the top prize in Westmeath for Watt Footprint Ltd. and went on to win the ‘One to Watch’ Award at the National Enterprise Awards. The company offer a one stop shop approach to delivering energy savings for their clients. From initial energy audit and delivery of upgrades to the measurement and verification of the savings. Watt Footprint have an in-house team of energy specialists including energy engineers, energy auditors, metering specialists, software/technology experts and project managers.

Mid-East Regional Award – Offaly’s Glass Innovations

Glass Innovations Ltd., established in 2001 by Gretchen Donovan, is a family run business based in Ferbane. They won the Offaly County Award, and went on the win the Mid-East Regional Award at the National Enterprise Awards. The company provide a decoration service for bottles and glassware for drinks, body care products, candles and diffusers. Their customers include Dunnes Stores; Aldi; Lidl; The Handmade Soap Co.; Fragrances of Ireland and Max Benjamin to name but a few. The company designs bespoke glass and packaging solutions to give products shelf presence and branding, services can also include supplying glass and accessories, to provide and all in one service for their customers.

Longford – Midland Language Centre

Winners for Longford are the Midland Language Centre. The company provide homestay programmes for international students coming to Ireland to learn English. Set up by Clodagh Brady in 1976, the Centre has been managed by Angela Brady since 2004. It has grown significantly, with over 2,000 international students a year matched with host families and placed onto language programmes in over 120 schools across Ireland. Programmes vary in length from one year to shorter courses, including two to four week summer programmes with many activities and camps offered.

Laois – Ballykilcavan Farm & Brewery

Ballykilcavan Brewing sells two separate, but strongly linked products: craft beer and tourism.

The brewery produces a wide range of small-batch beers from lager and a variety of pales ales, to a red ale, brown ale and stout. Connected to this is their new visitor centre that opened in April 2022. The visitor centre is located in a 200 year old mill building and caters for tour groups, corporate, family and school groups and have regular scheduled tours for members of the public.

Ballykilcavan are the only brewery in Ireland making their beers using standard and specialty malts made from their own barley, and the only brewery in Ireland who can make a beer using ingredients that are sourced 100% from the farm where the brewery is situated.

Midlands at the National Enterprise Awards

Taking home 2 Awards at the National Enterprise Awards continues the strong record for the region for success at the National Enterprise Awards in recent years.

The region took home 3 Awards at the 2022 finals. The Best Start-Up category was won by Acoustic Interiors supported by Local Enterprise Office Offaly, while the Green/Sustainability Award went to Cirtex, supported by Longford Local Enterprise Office. There was also a win for Salutem Insights Ltd., backed by Local Enterprise Office Laois, who won in the Mid-East Region award.

In 2021, there was another strong performance by the Midlands, winning the overall National Enterprise of the Year Award with Bevcraft Group and Local Enterprise Office Westmeath, once again showing the fantastic business environment on offer to local enterprises here in the region.

Your Local Enterprise Office

Your Local Enterprise Office provides advice, information and support to you in starting up or growing your business. With 4 dedicated teams across the Local Authority network in the Midlands, your county ‘LEO’ offers you a wide range of experience, skills and services. Find out more