A county Mayo company will get a chance to exhibit their business to almost 300,000 people at the National Ploughing Championships next month as part of the Local Enterprise Village.
The initiative of the Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) will see 31 small businesses, one from each LEO, take a stand in the Local Enterprise Village in the heart of the Ploughing Championships, opening their businesses up to almost 300,000 prospective customers across the 3 days of the event.
Collins Plastics, who are supported by Local Enterprise Office Mayo, design and fabricate a wide range of plastic sheet products and can also provide specialised custom services for unique items where required. The business will showcase their existing outdoor range of green houses and veranda kits at the event while also launching their Watch Me Grow Mini Greenhouse range. The Watch Me Grow Mini Greenhouse range is a flat pack self-assembly product that can be assembled in under a minute. The same can be said for disassembly which aids cleaning and storage over the winter months. The product is ideally suited where space is limited but also provides the ideal conditions for the cultivation of many exotic plants that would otherwise be very difficult to grow.
John Magee, Head of Enterprise with Local Enterprise Office Mayo outlined what a significant opportunity this is for these businesses; “Small businesses very rarely get an opportunity like this and it could be a significant event for them all in the growth of their business. They will be at the very heart of the action at the Ploughing Championships getting the chance to tell their story and sell their product / service to a massive new audience, an audience that will be excited to be back following a two-year break.
“We have been working with this business across the Summer to ensure they maximise this opportunity through sales and marketing training and stand design. The Local Enterprise Village is always a great buzz and no doubt will be one of the big hits for visitors to Ratheniska this September.”
There will be a variety of products and services on show for the visitors to this year’s Ploughing Championships to enjoy, which includes food, fashion, agtech products, farm safety equipment, spirits, sportswear and even skincare for animals!
The Local Enterprise Village was launched by Damien English, T.D., Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail along with some of the businesses that will be involved including handmade children’s furniture company Lucy & Me, luxury natural skincare and home products Jo Browne and Donegal designer Bernie Murphy.
Minister English emphasised how positive it is to have this opportunity back for small businesses; “The Local Enterprise Village at the Ploughing Championships will showcase the very best of our small business community from across the country. I look forward to joining with almost 300,000 people at the Ploughing and have the opportunity to meet with some of the businesses embedded in our communities and who are the drivers of local economic growth and job creation. Visitors to the Village can expect to see the depth and diversity of amazing small businesses who are supported by Government through their Local Enterprise Office.”
NPA President James Sutton said: “It is wonderful to see that so many diverse and interesting companies will be represented at this year’s National Ploughing Championships’ ‘Local Enterprise Village’. This is a fantastic opportunity for these small local businesses to showcase their products to the 300,000 visitors expected throughout the 3 days.”
The Local Enterprise Village is just one of a number of initiatives that the Local Enterprise Offices run, to foster entrepreneurship across the country. Others include Local Enterprise Week, the National Enterprise Awards, the Student Enterprise Programme, National Women’s Enterprise Day and Local Enterprise Showcase. The Local Enterprise Offices in local authorities are funded by the Government of Ireland through Enterprise Ireland.
