Funding of 850,000 euro has been provided to EpiSensor, a Limerick based company that develops wireless sensor technology that reduces energy costs. The syndicated funding has been provided by the Bank of Ireland Start-up and Emerging Sectors Equity Fund, managed by Delta Partners, the AIB Seed Capital Fund, co-managed by Enterprise Equity, Enterprise Ireland and private investors.   The funds will enable EpiSensor to create new jobs and grow international sales.

EpiSensor has seen rapid growth since it was founded in 2007. Its wireless technology platform (SiCA) reduces energy usage and costs by providing data from wireless energy sensors that show where energy savings can be made. It has helped organisations in the pharmaceutical, medical devices, food processing and manufacturing industries to significantly reduce energy costs and the technology has proven to pay for itself within the first year. The system is designed and manufactured in Ireland.

EpiSensor will use the funding to grow sales in international markets and expects to create 10 new jobs in the area of sales and development. In particular, EpiSensor will be recruiting highly skilled individuals capable of operating to the highest standard with experience of doing business internationally.  Currently its systems have been installed in some of the world’s largest companies including IBM, Johnson & Johnson and Citigroup. The technology is presently monitoring 40 sites in Australia, more than 100 homes in Ireland, with customers also in the United States, Switzerland, New Zealand and Hungary.

EpiSensor is run by Gary Carroll and together with a strong management team they plan to take advantage of the new wave of wireless technology and embark on EpiSensors next phase of growth.

“The global potential for wireless energy monitoring systems is enormous,” said EpiSensor Founder and Chief Executive Gary Carroll. “Energy prices are rising and for organisations to control energy costs, they first need visibility of where and when energy is being used within their organisation. We provide accurate real-time energy usage data allowing our customers to make informed decisions to improve efficiency and reduce costs. The scale of the opportunity is truly global with identical problems needing to be solved throughout the world.”

Announcing details of the funding were left to right, Eithne Hassett, Senior Business Manager Bank of Ireland, Gary Carroll, CEO EpiSensor, Shay Garvey, Delta Partners and Brendan Carroll, Director EpiSensor.

Shay Garvey of Delta Partners said: “We see major potential for EpiSensor to become international leaders in wireless sensor technology. EpiSensor has developed a complete product range and has successfully deployed large-scale systems. With new products scheduled to be released in the coming months it will enhance the company’s ability to sell into areas such as water treatment, building management and smart metering which represent significant opportunities for the company.”

To read Shay’s article about “Writing a Business Plan” – click on this link

…

A new cooperative is creating innovative opportunities for small firms exporting from Ireland, by coming together to reduce prohibitive delivery costs.

Up to now small firms in Ireland could not negotiate on the cost of exporting because they could not guarantee future large volumes of exported goods. Many smaller retailers and craftspeople were charged exorbitant quotes to ship their products internationally. This left many barriers for retailers who saw the cost of exporting in excess of the cost of the products themselves.

Now, Small, Medium and Micro Enterprise Exporters in Ireland have the opportunity to join forces with other similar organisations to collectively reduce the costs of these exports and begin selling abroad at fixed fees at greatly reduced prices. . The Co-Operative aims to achieve this by utilising the group purchasing model to create economies of scale thereby reducing cost of export for the individual member business. The Co-Operative will also bring in expertise in export markets, customs, finance, and insurance. The Co-Operative will be run by a committee of its members and managed by SME Capital Funds.

The Irish Export Cooperative officially launched this innovative approach fittingly at the Irish Executives Conference in Galway on the 15th September 2011. What started as a Twitter conversation has grown into a proactive initiative to help and support small, medium and micro sized enterprises to export their goods and enter new foreign markets. This initiative was sparked off by an order received from the USA by Chris Gordon, owner of an Irish firm called www.TrophiesAwardsandGifts.com. Chris needed to ship a small  package and found that the cost was prohibitive. This got Chris thinking and sent him on to Twitter to see if other SMME business owner/managers found the same problem. From this Chris got linked onto the website of SME Capital Funds (www.smecapitalfunds.ie), a business consultancy firm based in Cork which specialises in providing consultancy services to SMME’s. Following a number of phone calls between Chris and SME Capital Funds the Irish Export Co-Operative was born.

Check out John Whelan’s speech below talking about the IEA top exporters publication launch.

…

A new initiative aimed at helping SMEs to establish an online presence has been launched. The Getting Irish Business Online (GIBO) initiative is the first of its kind in Ireland and is backed by several leading Irish online companies, such as Irish Domains and Blueface.

The initiative offers small businesses a chance to get an internet domain, email, web presence and VOIP phone line with local geographic number free for a year. This is a much needed service for start-up businesses who often find it too time consuming or expensive to establish a web presence on their own. According to the CSO nearly one third of businesses do not have a website, and only about a fifth have e-commerce capability.

The GIBO initiative will help small business save costs and start using web technologies in that all-important first year online. It is open to all businesses in Ireland (including Northern Ireland) irrespective of size. SME’s who already have an online presence can also gain from the initiative by learning how to develop their business online even further. Also, most of the services offered by GIBO are free for the first year!
…

Brendan Allen of Castlemine Farm in Roscommon is destined to be Ireland’s latest Internet sensation. A few short weeks ago Brendan was a typical, unknown and unsung Irish farmer, but today, thanks to the power of social media, Brendan now has followers in every continent and is at the forefront of promoting Irish produce to the world.

It all began with an innocent tweet……….

…

The Small Firms Association released findings from their Winter Jobs Sentiment Survey today. The results show that retaining jobs and creating employment remained a challenge for small firms.

SFA Acting Director, Avine McNally stated, ““In the past small firms have demonstrated the capacity to create employment, and they will do so again if they are given the right economic conditions. In 2010 12% of firms increased their employee numbers, however, the final months of the year showed a decline in the numbers at work in small firms and this may have been a reflection of the uncertainty that firms felt about Ireland’s economic future.”

There is a reason to remain positive however. While the challenges remain for many firms in regards to retaining and creating employment, 62% of companies indicated that employee numbers will remain at current levels during the next three months, while 14% of respondents expect to increase employee numbers in the next three months, an increase of 7% on the last quarter of 2009.
…

Entrepreneurs come in all shapes and sizes. Just take 19 year old chocolatier Louis Barnett for example.

At just 12 Louis became the youngest entrepreneur in the UK when he began selling his cakes to local restaurants and delis. He then became the youngest ever supplier to Waitrose at 13 (2006) and Sainsbury’s at 14 (2007) and Selfridges at 15. …

Going for Growth is an initative which allows women entrepreneurs to benefit from peer support and the insights and experiences of successful entrepreneurs. Funded and supported by the European Social Fund, Enterprise Ireland and the Equality for Women Measure, Department of Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affairs. …

Many people in Ireland who have thought up and designed useful and innovative products but who do not have the means or the knowledge to get their products to market will be interested to hear about NDRC’s (National Digital Research Centre’s) Launch Pad Programme. …

A couple of weeks ago we wrote about the new local loyalty card that was introduced in Carrigaline, Co. Cork.

The scheme was introduced by leading businesses in the town who realised that they needed to give people a reason to shop in the town instead of going to nearby Cork City. The Carrigaline localrewards.ie town loyalty program uses the internet loyalty platform developed by Cork company myrewardcard.ie. …