Kildare manufacturer is finalist in EY enterprise competition
Second Celbridge business to reach final in two years
A Kildare based manufacturer is a finalist in a leading business competition this week.
Kevin O’Connor of Celbridge based company, General Paints Group will be one of the 24 finalists to battle it out for the 2020 EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards on November 12.
Last year, another Celbridge businessman, Tom Cronin of Rye River Brewing was in the final.
A Carlow brewer, Seamus O’Hara, Carlow Brewing Company, is also on the list this year.
Both are in the industry category.
Founded in 1953, General Paints manufactures Irish paint brands, Colourtrend and Curator, distributing to over 250 paint stores in Ireland, UK, EU and US. It retails paint in seven company-owned stores.
The Celbridge based company has seven company owned stores in Celbridge, Waterford, Mullingar, Swords, Dundalk, Newbridge and Dublin.
The company’s brands are available through a network of over 200 independent stockists in north and south Ireland and the UK.
Kildare business-people, Sonia Deasy, Pestle & Mortar and Tom Cronin, Rye River Brewing Company, were finalists of EY Entrepreneur Of The Year in 2019.
The 24 finalists will compete across three categories - emerging, industry and international and one overall winner will be selected as the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year
.The finalists have been shortlisted from more than 100 nominations by an independent judging panel of previous winners, chaired by Anne Heraty, CEO of CPL Resources Plc, and EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2006.