Maurice Kettyle from Kettyle Irish Foods winner of the business Person of the Year award 2012
THIS time last year founder of Kettyle foods, Maurice Kettyle, had received an invitation to the Fermanagh Herald business awards.
The black tie affair, the 2013 edition of which happens on Friday night, featured all that was good in local business in 2012.
Heading to the Manor House Hotel for the awards, Maurice has absolutely no idea he was to receive the very first Fermanagh Herald Business person of the Year award.
“I remember the shock. It was totally unexpected. But I was very pleasantly surprised, it was a great honour,” he said.
Kettyle Irish Foods, situated in Lisnaskea, specialises in superior meats, including Dry aged Beef, Lough Erne Lamb, Fermanagh Free Range Chicken, Fermanagh Bacon and Rose Veal.
Recently, the business opened a concession in Tesco Enniskillen, and, speaking from Germany, the company’s owner was in a positive mood reflecting on the last 12 months, which has recently seen moves further into Europe.
“I think in the last year, anything that we said we were going to do, we’ve achieved,” he said.
“There’s 25% growth year on year and there’s no signs of slowing down.”
With a number of awards up for grabs at Friday’s event that fall into the ‘young entrepreneur’ and ‘business start-up’ category, Maurice offered his own advice to those in their business infancy.
“Stick with it. If you’re researching the market, research, research, and research again.
“Listen to what other people say. If you believe it you can achieve it.”
On Friday night, October 11, at the Manor House Hotel, awards up for grabs include: Business Person of the Year Award, sponsored by 02, Belmore Street; Growth through Export Award, sponsored by Invest Northern Ireland; Best Tourism Service Provider Award, sponsored by Fermanagh Lakelands; Young Entrepreneur of the Year, sponsored by Ulster Bank; Best Start Up Business Award, sponsored by South West College Innotech Centre; Excellence in Business Practice Award, sponsored by Fermanagh District Council; Excellence in Customer Service Award, sponsored by First Trust; Excellence in Marketing Award, sponsored by Cara Pharmacy; Social Enterprise of the Year, sponsored by Fermanagh Trust.
To read more.. Subscribe to current edition
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere