“Quite honestly, we could not have grown the business without the support of the LEO.”

Liam Murray and Martin Hamm created Marli Products in 2005. An injection mould business, they initially started manufacturing golf tees and plastics for the florist industry. After steady growth they moved into a 5,000 square foot facility at the Waterford Airport Business Park in 2011. At this stage they were also moulding components for Cartamundi.

The growth of the business required them to increase their capacity to five machines. Liam explains how the business developed, “Continued growth has been important to us, both as business owners and as employers. The greatest asset the company has is the staff. While Martin and I guide and push the business the team we have here keep the quality levels high while reaching the targets we set. Agencies like the Local Enterprise Office help grow the demand with new markets and new customers while the staff, we are so fortunate to have, help facilitate this growth.

“Because of these factors we were able to negotiate a long-term lease for the 25,000 square foot Allsop facility, I had worked at the facility for years and knew it would suit our requirements and ambitions. We also reached an agreement with them for their equipment. This proved to be really significant for us. Over the last six years or so we have upgraded the moulding equipment to be almost all fully electric which make the production significantly more efficient than the older hydraulic machines, both in terms of energy usage and output performance.

“We have also invested in robots that remove components from the machines and stack/pack them automatically, allowing us to reduce our labour costs per machine significantly, this has allowed us to stay competitive in the face of rising material, energy and labour costs.”

Liam Murray, Martin Hamm & Jacqui Gaule (LEO Waterford) joined WLR in studio to celebrate LEO Waterford's 10 year anniversary. 

Throughout this period of sustained growth Liam and Martin have availed of the support of the Local Enterprise Office. Over the past 12 years Marli Products has received grants enabling them to purchase moulds, machine gantry extensions and central feeds, culminating in an expansion grant last October. “Quite honestly, we could not have grown the business without the support of the LEO. This support we anticipate will allow us to employ up to a total of fourteen people by the end of the year, which will qualify us to transition from being a LEO company to an Enterprise Ireland supported company.”

Local Enterprise Office Waterford is here to help you start a business, expand an existing business or reach new markets. It provides advice, information and supports in starting up or growing your business as part of a network of 31 Local Enterprise Offices across Ireland. 

Contact your Local Enterprise Office Waterford for their latest training programmes, grants and events schedule on www.localenterprise.ie/Waterford or email info@leo.waterfordcouncil.ie for access to all their training support information.

For more information of Marli Products, visit https://marliproducts.com/