Irish Enterprise Awards 2020

28 EU BUSINESS NEWS / 2020 Irish Enterprise Awards , Best Family-Owned Printing & Signage Business - Munster Based inWest Cork, and serving both Cork itself and the widerMunster region, Bantry Designs and Signs Limited is a printing company offering a wealth of services for all manner of clients. A family-run business, the firm is headed up by founderMartinMcCarthy, alongside his father Corney and his son Cameron. To discover what made the firma worthy winner in this years’ Irish Enterprise Awards, we profiled its work to learn a little more. Jan20331 Designs and Signs can be the perfect way to stand out from the crowd when trying to begin establishing a business through a recognisable design. Regardless of the industry that all manner of companies work in today, there is always a need to have an eye-catching and easily- recognisable design or branding to ensure popularity amongst both new and potential customers. That is where Bantry Designs and Signs Limited comes in, offering company branding, personalised clothing ranges, vehicle graphics, shop fronts, large format printing, complete business stationery, memorial cards, labels, and one- off print jobs to name but a few. Founded in 2008 by Martin McCarthy, Bantry Designs and Signs Limited has since been a key partner for hotel groups, multinational companies, independent traders, supermarket chains, and sole traders all over Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the wider world. In 2013, just five years after its initial founding, there came an opening in the market for a stationery shop offering small print jobs in the small coastal town of Bantry. So Martin’s wife, Laura, seized the initiative and opened The Outlet, which caters to this exact market, and the business has not looked back since. Having been offering only the highest quality designs and signs for almost twelve years, the team at Bantry Designs and Signs Limited ensures that every customer walks away with nothing but the best. Working to a 1-2-day turnaround on most projects, the firm utilises only the most up-to-date software, printers, and machinery. Customers today no longer want to wait for their job, so the swiftness of the firm’s work without compromising on the quality is exactly what customers are looking for. As well as the technical modernity and the speed with which each project is completed, Martin and the team complete 99% of all jobs inhouse, reducing the dependency on a third party and thereby guaranteeing the quality of a project. Being a family-run business may mean a fun and delightful working atmosphere, but it can also mean serious hard work to retain its market-leading position in the field. Every member of the team at Bantry Designs and Signs Limited is wholly committed to offering only the highest quality work, and that means focusing on quality over quantity. There is regular staff training and upskilling, but the staff themselves also play a vital role in improving the business. Alongside the three generations of family, the other five staff members all come together to offer suggestions for improvements, including flexi time, weekly lunches, and breakfast meetings. Another five years on from the opening of The Outlet in 2013, the team decided to expand the memorial side of the business, creating a user-friendly site at www.dandsmemorials.ie which has grown from simply supplying Munster, to now having customers all over the country. The next few years will hopefully see this become a standalone business, as well as the label aspect of the firm at www.stickerme.ie , which has seen immense growth in the last eighteen months. As for Bantry Designs and Signs Limited, Martin and the team will continue to provide excellent quality products for existing and future clients. Offering the backing that only an incredibly experienced design and signage firm can, this Irish enterprise is a seriously worthy winner in this years’ awards and the with future growth on the horizon, the sky is the limit. Company: Bantry Designs and Signs Ltd Contact: Martin McCarthy Website: www.designsandsigns.ie