Siobhan Gannon, head of finance at Irish Dog Foods and marketing manager Darren Keating
Irish Dog foods has been named in the Deloitte Best Managed Companies Awards.
The company was one of only 12 to join a network of 136 businesses awarded the status of Best Managed Platinum Club. The network has total revenues of nearly €11bn this year, with export sales approaching €3bn and total employment of about 44,000 people.
Irish Dog Foods, which demonstrated ‘superior business performance’ for the seventh year, was recognised at a gala awards dinner in Dublin.
CEO Liam Queally said: “For Irish Dog Foods, innovation is the key to our success. We realised that combining this with other core competencies like quality products, service and vision would ensure that we would have a core strategy for growth in a competitive landscape.
“Over the years our world has evolved from what was feeding dogs leftovers from our tables to a cross range of high-end diets that include grain-free, organic and fresh meat inclusion. The customer we serve today is no longer the pet owner but, the pet parent.”
ADMIRABLE
Anya Cummins, partner, Deloitte said: “The Best Managed Companies process is a rigorous one, examining every facet of an organisation, and the bar is set high by our judging panel. As ever, the spread of companies, right around the country and across a number of industries, underlines the importance of Irish and Northern Irish companies to the economy and in the midst of economic uncertainty, technology disruption, an open competitive market and full employment, the continued strong performance of these businesses is admirable. In the current environment, it is important for this contribution to be recognised, supported and showcased.”
Tom Hayes, chief executive, Bank of Ireland Corporate Banking, added: “It’s a challenging time for businesses in general, with the operating environment consistently and rapidly changing, due to technological developments, new ways of doing things, and challenges on the macroeconomic horizon.
“The Best Managed Companies this year have demonstrated that they can optimise each area of their business while always operating with an acute awareness of their environment, recognising the opportunities of expansion into global markets, in addition to strategic alliances and partnerships. I look forward to their continued growth.”
