Kildare Village, Liam Queally, Clark and KBC Bank Naas, all winners at The Kildare Business Awards 2015
Over 300 people from throughout Kildare celebrated business excellence at the Kildare Business Awards Gala Ball in the K Club on Friday evening.
Guests on the night included Mayor of Kildare Brendan Weld, CEO of The Irish Chamber of Commerce USA Maurice Buckley, CEO of Kildare County Council Peter Carey and corporate partners of the Chamber were also in attendance that included Pfizer and Kerry.
Speaking on the night, Allan Shine CEO of the Chamber said:
“The business community here this evening celebrates and supports all the finalists and congratulates the winners. 2015 has been an excellent year for business in the county and this evening we recognise and congratulate the business leaders who drive innovative processes, product development, enterprise, sustainability and overall business success across all sectors.”
There were 11 business award winners in total on the night, with Kildare Village winning the sought after Kildare Business of the year award for 2015.
Liam Queally was the recipient of the “Outstanding Contribution to Business Award”. Accepting his award to a standing ovation , Liam Queally announced that more jobs will be created shortly in Irish Dog Foods, 50 in total as it expands its reach further into the US market.
Kildare Village triumphed in winning Business of the Year, on behalf of Kildare Village, Maureen Bergin said “ The €50 million 60,000 sq foot expansion will significantly increase the number of high-end fashion stores in the village to circa 100. We are creating 400 new jobs, bringing the overall employment to 1,000. The village has become a unique retail tourism destination, attracting over 2.5 million guests per annum with significant growth in long haul travellers from China, the Middle East and the US”.
Whitewater Shopping Centre won the Retail Excellence Award and Centre Manager Ingrid Ryan said:
“It has been a big year for Whitewater Shopping Centre and we are delighted with this recognition from our peers in the Kildare Business community. The Kildare Business Awards are a prestigious awards and we thank them for their support, there was a high level of nominees across the board. I would like to acknowledge the Whitewater team for all their commitment, hard work and service.”
ISS Recruitment and Training were the overall sponsors this year of the awards and Michael Gleeson of ISS said in his welcome speech “ The Chamber is very much like a community, we all support each other, I am delighted to be associated with this great event”.
Winners on the night were:
SME Business of the year sponsored by Bank of Ireland – Winner: Clark
Corporate Social Responsibility Award sponsored by Kildare Village – Winner: KBC Bank Naas
Networker of the Year sponsored by Hanahoe and Hanahoe Solicitors – Winner: Niall Reck, Graphedia
Retail Excellence Award sponsored by Ladytown Business Park – Winner: Whitewater Shopping Centre
Tourism and Hospitality Award sponsored by JF Dunne Insurances – Winner: Kildare Village
High Potential Start Up Award sponsored by LEO Kildare – Winner: Rye River Brewery
E Commerce Social Media Award sponsored by Graphedia – Winner: Future Ticketing
Innovation and Technology Award sponsored by Kerry – Winner: SeaChange
Entrepreneur of the year sponsored by ETBI – Winner: Mike and Gary Finlay, Finlay Motor Group
Recipient of “The outstanding contribution to business award 2015” – Winner: Liam Queally Irish Dog Foods
Business of the year 2015 – Winner: Kildare Village