Tag: #donegal

Innovation Meets Tradition: Belleek Pottery’s Digital Leap with ATU Donegal

Belleek Pottery, one of Ireland’s most historic and renowned pottery manufacturers, has successfully completed a groundbreaking digital transformation project in collaboration with WiSAR Lab, Atlantic Technological University (ATU) Donegal. This initiative, funded by the InterTradeIreland Innovation Boost programme, has not only enhanced Belleek’s operational efficiency but also strengthened cross-border industry-academic collaboration.
Leveraging ATU Donegal’s expertise in computing and digital systems, Belleek Pottery has integrated cutting-edge technologies into its business operations. The project focused on enhancing data management, automating essential processes, and advancing the company’s digital infrastructure. By replacing outdated systems with a fully integrated platform, Belleek has improved operational efficiency, refined inventory management, and strengthened supply chain performance.
“Founded in 1857, Belleek Pottery is deeply rooted in Ireland’s cultural and commercial heritage. In today’s fast-changing and challenging business environment, it’s crucial for us to continuously evolve our processes to ensure the company’s success and preserve its legacy,” said Raymond Wallace, IT Manager at Belleek Pottery. “The funding from InterTradeIreland as well as the support from ATU has been instrumental in modernising our operations, making them more efficient and scalable for future growth. This project is a testament to the power of cross-border collaboration and the innovation potential within the region.”
A key project milestone was transitioning to a modern cloud system, replacing outdated software and improving data integration at Belleek. Advanced APIs, automated shipping, and a Shopify-based e-commerce platform were also introduced, enabling real-time stock updates and streamlined order management.
“This project has provided ATU Donegal with an invaluable opportunity to apply research and academic expertise to real-world business challenges,” said Dr. Kevin Meehan, Principal Investigator at WiSAR Lab, ATU Donegal.
“Working with Belleek Pottery has not only strengthened industry-academic ties but has also enriched our curriculum, offering students hands-on experience in digital transformation.”
The initiative has driven significant business growth, enhancing Belleek’s partnerships with major global retailers. The investment in digital infrastructure is expected to drive sustained growth, with sales projected to increase by 40% over the next three years.
Lisa McManus, the Innovation Boost Project Manager, has also been retained as Belleek’s Integration Project Manager, ensuring that the expertise gained remains within the company.
Encouraged by the success of this collaboration, both Belleek Pottery and ATU Donegal are exploring future opportunities to drive innovation and digital transformation.  “This project exemplifies how innovation and tradition can work hand in hand,” Dr. Kevin Meehan concluded. “Belleek Pottery has not only modernised its operations but also set a new standard for digital transformation in heritage industries. We are excited to see how this momentum continues to drive change and create new opportunities for the future.”
Joanne Deighan, Programme Manager at InterTradeIreland, highlighted the importance of the InterTradeIreland Innovation Boost Programme, saying: “Collaboration with partners across the island fosters meaningful advancements, improving processes, refining products, and enhancing services. The partnership between Belleek Pottery and ATU Donegal has had a lasting impact and created exciting new opportunities for future growth.”

SCÁLA Can Accelerate Your Business Growth.

SCÁLA, the accelerator programme from Local Enterprise Office Donegal, is now open for applications. Scála is targeted at high-potential start-ups and business expansions in the county. 

This exciting programme is unique to Donegal and is built by investors for entrepreneurs. Applications are open for entrepreneurs and senior managers of businesses with the potential to scale their business from Donegal. 

SCÁLA Donegal will target start-up entrepreneurs with the potential for fast growth in a range of sectors such as Tech, Engineering, Blue Economy and Health Sciences. See https://www.localenterprise.ie/Donegal/Training-Events/Scala/

SCÁLA has a particular focus on businesses with the potential for fast growth in sectors such as Tech, Engineering, Manufacturing, Health Sciences and the Blue Economy. This programme also encourages potential spin-outs from existing firms in the county and region, while introducing participants to potential investment funds.

Speaking about the SCÁLA Accelerator, Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council, Cllr. Niamh Kennedy said: ‘’Over the past few years we have seen a number of very positive business expansion plans in Donegal across a range of industries. This programme provides an opportunity for further organic growth in these and other high-performing sectors.’’

 

Jon Geary of Little Mamma’s Gelato, who is a recent past participant of SCÁLA, pictured with co-founder Linda Geary. 

Jon Geary of Little Mamma’s Gelato, who is a recent participant in the programme, said: “SCÁLA provided me with the confidence to grow my business, by helping me to identify a market fit product, build a team and assist in finding relevant funding. The connections made and the expertise gained through this programme were crucial for us as we work towards scaling our business.”

Local Enterprise Office Donegal is collaborating with Skillfluence to implement the programme. Skillfluence provides bespoke training programmes designed to accelerate the needs of entrepreneurs and empower them to translate research into commercial opportunities.

Jamie McCallum of Skillfluence who is running the SCÁLA programme for Local Enterprise Office Donegal

Brenda Hegarty, Head of Enterprise at Local Enterprise Office, Donegal, said: “SCÁLA focuses on giving participants a deep understanding of the factors that can drive success, along with the skills to build financial models that stand up to investor scrutiny and industry engagement. The programme will also provide mentorship from leaders in their field, so participants will get valuable insights and advice on ways to adapt their business model as necessary. We will select up to twelve businesses based on the scale of ambition of the founder(s), the potential opportunity in the market chosen, and, most importantly, the businesses we believe can be supported  the most through the SCALA programme. We would encourage potential candidates to apply now and give yourself the best possible chance to be accepted.”

Brenda Hegarty, Head of Enterprise at Local Enterprise Office Donegal.  

The deadline for applying to this programme is midnight Friday, 11th April 2025. Following this, up to 12 businesses will be selected for the accelerator, which commences on April 30th, 2025 and will run for 11 weeks, concluding on July 16th, 2025. For more information on the programme and how to apply, visit: https://www.localenterprise.ie/Donegal/Training-Events/Scala/ 

SCÁLA Donegal Can Accelerate Your Business Growth.

SCÁLA Donegal is now open for applications. This accelerator programme from Local Enterprise Office Donegal is targeted at high potential start-ups and business expansions in the county. This exciting programme is unique to Donegal and is built by investors for entrepreneurs. Applications are now open for entrepreneurs and senior managers of LEO Donegal client businesses. The programme is also open to entrepreneurs or businesses located anywhere in the world, who demonstrate a commitment to growing their organisation from Donegal.

The 2023 SCÁLA Donegal cohort. See www.localenterprise.ie/Donegal

SCÁLA Donegal will target start-up entrepreneurs with the potential for fast growth in a range of sectors such as Tech, Engineering, Blue Economy, Health Sciences, Food and Advanced Manufacture. This programme aims to focus on facilitating potential spin-outs from existing firms in the county and region and on introducing programme participants to potential investment funds.

Speaking about the SCÁLA Accelerator, Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council, Cllr. Martin Harley said: ‘’Over the past few years we have seen a number of very positive business expansion plans in Donegal across a range of industries. This programme provides an opportunity for further organic growth in these and other high-performing sectors.’’

SCÁLA Donegal will target start-up entrepreneurs with the potential for fast growth in a range of sectors such as Tech, Engineering, Blue Economy and Health Sciences. See www.localenterprise.ie/Donegal

Local Enterprise Office Donegal is collaborating with Skillfluence to implement the SCÁLA Donegal programme. Skillfluence provides bespoke training progammes designed to accelerate the needs of entrepreneurs and empower them to translate research into commercial opportunity.

Helen Burke of Teambase Ireland is a past participant of the programme

Brenda Hegarty, Head of Enterprise at Local Enterprise Office, Donegal said: “SCÁLA Donegal focuses on giving participants a deep understanding of factors that can drive success, along with the skills to build financial models that stand up to investor scrutiny and industry engagement. The programme will also provide mentorship from leaders in their field, so participants will get valuable insights and advice on ways to adapt their business model as necessary”.  

Jamie McCallum of Skillfluence who is running the SCÁLA programme for Local Enterprise Office Donegal

Helen Burke of Teambase Ireland is a past participant of the programme and said: ‘’SCÁLA Donegal was extremely helpful to our business and mentorship from industry leaders helped to give valuable insight and advice on how we can adapt our business model to grow and scale, nationally and internationally’’.

The deadline for application to this programme is Thursday, April 4th, 2024 at 12:00 PM. Following this, up to 12 businesses will be selected for the accelerator, which commences on April 17th and will run for 11 weeks. For more information on the programme and how to apply visit: https://www.localenterprise.ie/Donegal/Donegal/Training-Events/Scala.html 

Paradyn backs up critical data for Donegal County Council

Paradyn, one of Ireland’s leading cybersecurity service providers, is today announcing that it is backing up critical data for Donegal County Council with Vault365, an all-in-one backup, ransomware, and data protection solution.

Donegal County Council needed to effectively back up and secure its Microsoft Office365 data to ensure compliance and eliminate the setup and maintenance of its own hardware, storage, and infrastructure. Paradyn deployed the Vault365 solution which runs in the cloud and backs up information to its own highly secure off-site data centre. The remotely stored data is immutable and cannot be compromised by potential cyberattacks on the organisation’s estate.

Paradyn’s solution is protecting sensitive information for Donegal’s 166,000 citizens. It’s also enhancing the user experience for those who engage with the council’s vital services as public information is backed up, reliable, and up-to-date.

Ongoing monitoring and management by Paradyn of the Office365 estate gives peace of mind to Donegal County Council that its critical assets are protected. The council also has access to a self-service portal, meaning it has full control and visibility of the solution. The solution is flexible and scalable in line with organisational growth in the future.

Paradyn is securely backing up 900 Microsoft Office365 accounts for the council across applications including Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive. As Microsoft only stores data for up to 90 days, the Vault365 solution ensures business continuity and is increasing employee productivity as data can be quickly recovered in the event of an incident. The new solution is based on a cost per user model, which is resulting in significant cost savings for the council.

Sean Dunnion, Project Leader Information Systems at Donegal County Council, said: “With Paradyn’s extensive expertise securing organisations in the public sector and local government, they were the natural fit to support on this next phase of our journey. This Vault365 solution has futureproofed our data protection and backup capabilities, and provides peace of mind that sensitive information is secure.

“Crucially, it’s helping to enhance the services we provide to citizens throughout Donegal as the solution gives us full control of our Office365 estate, while ensuring minimal downtime should an incident occur. Ultimately, the technology is built with growth in mind and will enable us to scale as needed.”

Fergal Meehan, Chief Commercial Officer, Paradyn, said: “It’s a common misconception that Microsoft backs up customer data, which is why it’s essential for organisations to proactively protect their critical information. Vault365 eliminates the risk of losing access and control over this data, underpinned by the expert knowledge of our experienced specialists. Hackers will typically target on-site backups and having critical data stored securely in an off-site location provides an extra layer of protection.

“The council deals with citizens’ sensitive information and provides crucial public services to the people of Donegal, and this solution enables the council to meet these needs now and into the future.

Zinkworks establishes software engineering hub in Co. Donegal

Zinkworks, a Telecoms & Financial Services Research & Development company has announced the establishment of a software engineering hub in the CoLab facility on the Letterkenny I.T. Campus in Letterkenny Co. Donegal, creating 50 new jobs over the next 18 months.

Zinkworks was founded in 2018 and currently employs 180 people at its head office in Athlone Co. Westmeath. The company’s focus is primarily in research and development in Telecommunications, particularly on 5G, where it works with world leading clients, delivering its own portfolio of products to market.

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

Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar TD said “Congratulations to the Zinkworks team on this expansion which will see the creation of 50 new jobs over the next 18 months. This investment is a testament to the wealth of talent Letterkenny has to offer and indeed the hard work of the existing head office team in Athlone. The very best of luck.”

Welcoming the announcement, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Donegal T.D., Charlie McConalogue said “The establishment of a hub by Zinkworks in Letterkenny and the creation of 50 jobs in Donegal is a vote of confidence by the company and the IDA in Donegal and rural Ireland and will be a great support to the Letterkenny economy. I welcome this announcement and wish Zinkworks the best on its expansion.”

Paul Madden CEO of Zinkworks said: “As part of our ‘Bring the office to our people’ strategy, we are delighted to announce that we are opening a new branch in Letterkenny in the CoLab facility on the Letterkenny I.T. Campus. Since our launch four years ago, we’ve grown to a 180 person company in our head office in Athlone and today marks an exciting new step on our journey. We work with some of the biggest companies in the world and are developing our own product portfolio in Telecommunications.”

Aileen Cramer, COO of Zinkworks said “The key to our success is our people. We build an environment where people can grow and be at their best. Instead of asking people to commute to us or asking them to work from home all the time, we’re bringing our office to where our people are.  We’re delighted to be in Letterkenny and look forward our future here.”

Denis Curran, Head of Regions, Property and Enterprise Development at IDA Ireland said “The decision by Zinkworks to establish a software engineering hub in Co Donegal is very welcome news.

It is a strong endorsement of the high quality talent pool available in Donegal and across the North West region. It also demonstrates IDA Ireland’s continued commitment to winning jobs and investment for regional locations. I wish Zinkworks every success with their new investment”

The Letterkenny hub will provide software development services including 5G network consulting, 5G network deployment, telecommunications R&D, and ICT consultancy.  These 50 new roles will be across the areas of senior and mid-level software developers as well as a graduate programme.

For more information visit https://zinkworks.com/

Ambition Pre-accelerator Provides Pathway to Female Entrepreneurship.

An initiative to develop female entrepreneurship in Donegal is now open for applications. Following the success of the programme last year, Local Enterprise Office Donegal has launched Ambition for 2021. Now in its second year, the programme is open to female founders and co-founders, entrepreneurs, or those with a strong start-up idea, who have links to Donegal. Earlier this week, last year’s cohort – and the first graduates of the programme – came together in person for the first time for a socially distanced photocall to launch Ambition.

 

“Ambition is designed to support women entrepreneurship in the county and enable more women to transform solid ideas into commercially viable start-ups” says Eve-Anne McCarron, Acting Assistant Head of Enterprise, Donegal. “Last year’s programme yielded great results; all eleven of the female entrepreneurs who graduated the 2020 programme are continuing to work on their businesses, and many of them have come on board as mentors to support the new participants selected for this year’s programme.”

 

Michael Tunney, Head of Enterprise, Donegal, says the next generation of bright, ambitious female business leaders from Donegal offers hope for woman-led companies after Covid-19: 

“While there are plenty of challenges in the current climate, 79% of our first cohort reported that the positives had outweighed the negatives – and that they are optimistic for the future. On the whole, participants met any pandemic related challenges with creativity and resilience; many of them actually viewed lockdown as a crucial time to plan. Working at a slower pace, they could reflect and rebalance their priorities, which led to better decision-making, with space to think and strategise. We now want to build on the success of last year’s programme and are looking for smart new business ideas from women who live in Donegal, want to re-locate to Donegal, or have family links or connections to the county.”

 

Local Enterprise Office Donegal appointed Helen Fullen of Alinea to coordinate the programme: “The Ambition programme provides women with a clear pathway to start a globally focused business” Helen said. “Last year, we worked with the first cohort of Ambition, and several months later, all eleven teams are still going strong – thanks to the strong women at their helm. They’re dreaming big, with projects designed to make a real impact on business, social and cultural landscapes. 60% have accessed Local Enterprise Office supports since completing the programme, and 54% are revenue generating and exporting internationally. Ambition gives candidates the opportunity to develop their business ideas with one-to-one mentoring, and provides invaluable access to entrepreneurial role models, to learn their tools and techniques. We’re looking forward to working with the next cohort of ambitious female founders in Donegal.”

 

The course will be delivered online, and similar to last year, it’s hoped that it will attract women from across the diaspora, helping them to develop the building blocks required for female entrepreneurs to succeed. For those interested in finding out more about the programme, the Ambition team will host an Open Evening on Wednesday, 8th September 2021 from 5.00pm – 6.00pm to introduce the programme, the team and share the experiences of previous participants.

 

For further information on the Ambition Pre-Accelerator visit https://www.localenterprise.ie/Donegal/Training-Events/Ambition/Ambition.html