Tag: american

Maxol announces online delivery service & American style conveyor car wash

The Maxol Group today announced the launch of a new, freshly prepared  meal delivery service, designed to support the growing evening economy.  The latest tech-driven innovation will initially be trialled at three Maxol locations, Donabate, Ardbrae, and Longmile Road. It’s a significant development that will see Maxol evolving its fresh food offering,  meeting changing consumer lifestyle trends through smarter, more connected retail experiences for every time of day.

Using a leading delivery aggregator to fulfil orders, Maxol has signed an exclusive 18-month deal with restaurant platform, Noahs to digitise meal solutions that can be ordered online alongside some of the forecourt convenience retailers’ most popular convenience grocery lines.

Noahs will provide Maxol with leading chefs to advise on new menus,  assist in the design of kitchens and provide comprehensive operating systems to offer a best-in-class solution available from a phone app, online or instore using touch screens.  “We already offer an extensive range of freshly made meal solutions, but this takes our offering to a whole new level and potentially, to a whole new set of customers,” said Brian Donaldson, CEO Maxol. “Our fresh food offering is primarily focused on breakfast through to lunchtime but starting 2026, customers can enjoy cooked-to-order, high quality meals such as pizza, Mexican bowls, burgers and much more, that will be delivered straight to their door.”  This move underscores Maxol’s transformation into a leading convenience food retailer, with non-fuel sales accounting for around 40% the company’s gross profit.

Car Wash – critical to success of the business

With an estimated 784k cars passing through a Maxol car wash in 2025, Maxol is taking steps to redefine what it means to deliver for customers beyond fuel. Car wash has become a critical and growing part of the operation, with Brian Donaldson explaining that it is a core service that strengthens customer loyalty and reputation, while driving repeat visits. Recognising the evolving expectations of motorists, Maxol is rolling out an American-style conveyor car wash technology representing a major leap forward in speed, quality, and customer experience.  This innovative car wash system is already operational at two Maxol stations in Dublin, following the company’s acquisition of sites in Spawell and Coolquay earlier this year.

Planning applications for the conveyor car wash system that combines advanced automation with precision will be lodged shortly for five of Maxol’s existing sites in Limerick, Cork, Dublin, Belfast and Derry.

Looking ahead, 2026 will further mark the next stage of Maxol’s innovation journey with the planned launch of a car wash subscription model, giving customers unlimited access for a simple monthly fee. This approach not only delivers convenience and value for drivers but eliminates individual payments and will offer access to even more loyalty rewards through the Maxol loyalty app. Car wash is one of a number of areas where Maxol is setting new benchmarks for service and innovation within the forecourt sector and Brian Donaldson said: “This expansion underscores our commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction and I believe this will help position Maxol at the forefront of the next generation of forecourt retailing.”

American Investors Set For Dublin TechFoundHer Summit

International investor and star of the critically acclaimed Show Her The Money documentary Wendy Ryan is set to take to the stage at the forthcoming TechFoundHer Summit 2025 in Dublin next month.

Wendy, CEO of Kadabra based in Silicon Valley, will join fellow US investor Lata Shetty for an exclusive panel discussion that will include leading voices from Ireland and beyond including innovators such as Kelly Vero, Lesley Sackey, Dr Patricia Scanlon, Barbara McCarthy, and Áine Kerr.

The summit, which returns to the Round Room at the Mansion House in Dublin on Tuesday May 14, will host the second Dublin screening of the film, followed by an exclusive panel discussion featuring Ryan and a line-up of high-profile investors and innovation leaders.

Wendy Ryan, a powerhouse investor is committed to using her generational wealth to invest and support early-stage companies led by women, while Lata is a globally recognised tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist who is an inaugural investor and on advisory board of Silicon Valley Women’s Founder Funds. They will be joined on the panel by Mary Rodgers of PorterShed, Suzanne Mills, and Eshna Gogia from Republic of Work, who each play a significant role in championing startups in Ireland.

TechFoundHer founder Máirín Murray, who will host the event and panel, said it is expected to be a “powerful global gathering that’s flipping the script on who gets to lead in tech.”

She added: “This isn’t just another tech event, it’s a high-energy, purpose-driven gathering for women building and scaling tech solutions to solve real-world problems.

“This year, the message is clear – the future of tech must be diverse, daring, and include women.

“This summit is about unleashing vision and imagination.

“It’s for women who want to tackle real-world problems with powerful tech tools – and have some fun doing it.”

Catherine Gray is the producer and driving force behind the Show Her the Money movie which is directed by Ky Dickens. The movie explores the significant underrepresentation of women in venture capital funding, with women receiving less than 2% globally.

The film follows the journey of four women founders as they overcome systemic barriers in their pursuit of venture capital, highlighting the critical role of women investors who support them. It also shines a light on businesses that challenge conventional norms, from inclusive fashion to Ayurveda-inspired beauty, illustrating how access to funding can drive meaningful change.

Wendy, an executive producer of the Show Me The Money film, which also premiered in Belfast at The MAC this time last year, said: “If I write a woman a $10,000 cheque she is going to go much further with it than a similarly situated male would – returns are actually better when you invest in women.”

As the author of Learn Lead Lift, Wendy focuses on empowering women and BIPOC entrepreneurs through her investments and advisory roles.

Speaking of the film Máirín explained: “Show Her The Money is more than a documentary – it’s a catalyst for change.

“We’re bringing it back to Dublin because the conversation is far from over. If we want a future where innovation is truly inclusive, we need to see, hear, and fund women entrepreneurs. This film opens eyes – and doors.”

The screening is part of the TechFoundHer Summit 2025, which will also feature keynote speakers such as Kelly Vero, known for her work on Tomb Raider and Halo 3.

The event will also explore a range of themes including diversity in tech, startup growth, funding pathways, and real-world product innovation strategies. Attendees will also have the opportunity to connect with graduates of TechFoundHer’s Innovation Labs, a programme aimed at making tech accessible, impactful, and inclusive.

This year’s summit is supported by Dublin City Council as Headline Sponsor with U.S. Bank Europe and Enterprise Ireland acting as Network Sponsors. Additional support comes from WITS (Women in Technology & Science Ireland), BlockW and Nigma MVP Development Specialists as Catalyst Sponsors.

TechFoundHer’s Innovation Labs Programme has been funded through InterTradeIreland, in partnership with Enterprise Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland, under the Shared Island Enterprise Scheme with KPMG Ireland also supporting.

Tickets for the TechFoundHer Summit 2025 are now available, for more information go to www.techfoundher.com

North American Bancard choose Limerick City as location of R&D Centre of Excellence

North American Bancard LLC., a U.S.-based leader in fintech solutions, has today announced it will create 54 jobs in Limerick City. This centre-of-excellence will be responsible for developing the company’s portfolio of next generation risk management products and services.

Headquartered in Troy, Michigan USA, North American Bancard is re-imagining the payment experience. As a leading payment technology innovator, NAB has a diversified product platform that provides a modern end-to-end infrastructure to enable globally preferred payment types. NAB’s superior solutions deliver seamless payments experiences in mobile, ecommerce, and in-store environments. Serving hundreds of thousands of businesses and with over $100 billion per year in electronic transaction volume, NAB delivers functional, feature-rich and frictionless solutions for the evolving merchant economy.

This project is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland.

Minister for Enterprise Trade & Employment Peter Burke TD said: “It is great news that North American Bancard (NAB) have chosen Limerick City as the location for their new R&D Centre of Excellence, with the creation of 54 jobs. NAB is a leading Fintech solutions and payment technology innovator, providing next generation risk management products and services. Limerick, and indeed the Mid-West Region, has the optimum level of skills and talent for NAB to thrive here, and the new roles will provide excellent employment opportunities for our graduates across a number of disciplines. Ireland has a thriving Fintech ecosystem where we have a track record in supporting the biggest Tech and Financial Services companies in the world for decades, and this new announcement by NAB reinforces this. I wish all the team in NAB the very best in this new and exciting chapter.”

Minister for Research, Innovation and Science, Patrick O’Donovan TD said: “As a proud Limerick person, I know how fertile a landscape we have here for talent, innovation and commerce. This investment by NAB in the Mid-West is further recognition of that talent, and their arrival to Limerick city will provide a significant boost to the wider local economy. Limerick is the perfect base for industry of this kind. Risk management solutions are important for us all, as we increasingly rely upon financial institutions to be resilient and withstand attacks. I look forward to the arrival of the NAB team and hope to be able to pay a visit to their site in the coming months”.

“It is fantastic to begin our journey on establishing a presence in Ireland, and specifically in the Limerick region. This establishes a specialist R&D facility with a keen focus on addressing the global issue of payments fraud. The Limerick site represents a strategic pillar for NABs, and it would not be possible without the support of the IDA and meaningful partnerships within the city,” said Dr. Christopher Mascaro, Chief Risk Officer, of North American Bancard. “As a company, NAB strives to provide state-of-the-art payments solutions that meet the needs of all our partners and merchants, across a wide spectrum of industries. Ensuring that our partners are protected in an ever evolving landscape of fraud is a critical step in the journey.”

North American Bancard plans to invest in establishing an enterprise risk management solution for payment solution providers and financial institutions which will rely on highly scalable cloud-based architecture, real-time event processing, data lakes, AI based decisioning frameworks and an intuitive case management system.

Executive Director of IDA Ireland Mary Buckley said: “North American Bancard’s decision to establish operations in Limerick is a significant and ambitious addition to the thriving technology-led cluster of companies in the Mid West. This move underscores the region’s exceptional talent and technical capabilities, further elevating its profile as a hub for payments investments and advanced R&D initiatives. I wish North American Bancard every success with this project.”

The open roles available with North American Bancard are in the areas of Product Managers, Architects, Scrum Masters, UX Designers, Front End Developers, Back End Developers, DevOps Engineers, and Data Scientists. To learn more about joining the North American Bancard team, visit North American Bancard (NAB-IRE Ventures Limited) Jobs – Irishjobs