Irvinestown company regional enterprising winner

Irvinestown Trustee Enterprise Company Ltd (ITEC) has been announced as winner of the Northern Ireland heat of the Enterprising Britain 2007 competition.

It was awarded the honour ahead of runners-up Mission Hall Quilts from Londonderry and the Signal Centre of Excellence in Bangor.

Enterprising Britain is a key part of the government’s drive to increase rates of entrepreneurial activity in the UK. The competition runs nationally across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and operates in two stages: a regional nomination stage and a national competition between the regional finalists.

Since February, Invest NI has been searching for the region’s most enterprising place, with the hope that the winner will be the successful candidate at the UK finals in the autumn.

Enterprising Britain 2007 is run by the Department of Trade and Industry in partnership with the Regional Development Agencies and devolved administrations, and aims to identify enterprise champions – places that have created jobs, brought communities together, and made a real difference to local businesses and local people.

Winners from each of the UK regions will go forward to the UK finals in September, before the overall winner progresses to the European Enterprise Awards later in the year.

Graham Davis, Director of Regional Economic Development for Invest NI congratulated ITEC, saying: “I am delighted to announce that ITEC Ltd is this year’s NI regional winner. It has demonstrated a high degree of creativity in its attempts to promote the spirit of enterprise within an area of social and economic need. I wish it the best of luck as it progresses to the next stage of the competition.”

Since its inception, ITEC has generated over 200 jobs across 25 businesses varying from manufacturing to retail and service. Among the businesses operating from ITEC are a niche market textile business, a large furniture retailer, a rural transport project and a human milk bank.

(JM/KMcA)