The Chamber
IRELAND FRANCE BUSINESS AWARDS 2016
It was announced today that Grassland Agro, Venn Life Sciences and ECOCEM France have been announced as the winners of this year’s Ireland France Business Awards.
The awards recognise excellence within the Franco-Irish business community and the exemplary contribution that certain companies have made to their sectors and to the development of trade and investment between Ireland and France.
They have been organised by NetworkIrlande and the France Ireland Chamber of Commerce (FICC) for over 25 years.
The award for Best French Company in Ireland was presented to Grassland Agro, a company founded in 2013 following a merger between the French-owned Irish Timac and the Irish-owned Grassland Fertilizers. Grassland Agro supplies specially blended commodity fertilisers and high performance products for the Animal, Soil, Fertiliser, Dairy and Hygiene sectors. The size and success of the company has grown since its inception, with a team of 100 people now employed in Ireland and a turnover of over €120m reported in 2015.
Clinical trial management group Venn Life Sciences has been named the Best Irish Company in France. Headquartered in Dublin, the organisation conducts research, drug development and clinical trial management for health, medical and academic organisations. Venn employs over 200 people across Europe and the US, with over 50 of those based in France. They welcome the award as recognition of their commitment to growing their business through their excellent people on the ground.
The special award for Impact on Climate Change was awarded to ECOCEM France Materials Ltd, an Irish company founded in 2000 that produces Ground Granulated Blast-furnace Slag (GGBF), an environmentally friendly cement used across Europe. The cement sector is the most polluting manufacturing sector in the world, and ECOCEM’s GGBF product helps to lower the carbon footprint associated with concrete production and usage.
The three categories were recognised by a jury chaired by Gerry Halpenny - Senior Partner, LK Shields and composed of Sinéad Lonergan (Director France, Enterprise Ireland), Sebastien Carbon (Deputy Managing Director UK & Ireland, Ubifrance), Rory McNeill (Marketing Procurement and Communications Director, CRH), Gisèle Hivert-Messeca (Directrice Ubifrance Irlande), Pierre Mongrué (Chef du Service Economique, l’Ambassade de France en Irlande), Jim Rice (Chartered Engineer & Business Consultant), Niamh Breslin (IDA Europe) and Anne Marie Ronayne (MD Terra Connecta).
Speaking about the awards, Managing Director of the FICC, Cliona McGowan said, "Our annual France Ireland Business Awards is a celebration of Franco-Irish business success and is an important occasion to acknowledge French and Irish companies that are expanding and doing exemplary work outside their country of origin."
She added, "We are delighted to announce Grassland Agro, Venn Life Sciences and ECOCEM France as our 2016 winners and believe that they will provide great inspiration for other Irish and French companies contemplating doing business either in Ireland or France."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
Don’t miss out! Contact Marie at info(@)franceireland.ie or 01-644 9760 to register for the Gala Dinner presenting the winners with their award on Thursday 24th November.
