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Innovation and customer trust are recipes for business longevity

John Daly talks to two business owners whose engagement with change has sustained their success

The team at Dualtron, an Irish company that specialises in cash processing and payment solutions

Fri Mar 31 2023 - 05:00

When you talk to owners of businesses operating for 30 years and more it doesn’t take long to see they have an alertness that sets them apart. They’re as good at listening as at talking. They have a story to tell but they’re also very interested in yours. And, having weathered challenges from the implosion of global banking to Brexit and the pandemic, they have come to expect that no two years are ever the same in commerce.

Here are two business owners operating in very different sectors. The main factor they have in common is decades of success.

Timbertrove director Shirley Kelly with her husband Henry and their children Danielle, Ciara and Conor

Timbertrove’s family values ensure a growing success story

O’Kelly’s Sawmill and The Shed Man began operations in the early 1980s in the Dublin Mountains, becoming officially established in 1986. Since then the company has grown and rebranded under the name Timbertrove – a unique, award-winning, wholly Irish-owned family business with years of experience in the design, manufacture and installation of top-quality timber products.

Shirley O’Kelly is a director of Timbertrove O’Kelly Sawmills and Country Store & Café, which is located just below the Hellfire Club at Killakee, Co Dublin, with panoramic views of the city. She runs the business with her husband Henry and their children, Danielle, Ciara and Conor.

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“We believe our success is based on differentiation through innovative design, quality materials and craftsmanship, in addition to superior customer service,” says O’Kelly. “We have a very experienced and dedicated workforce.”

The company is C2 registered and fully insured. “Since 2009, we’ve been serving coffee, with our Timbertrove scones quickly becoming our best-selling product soon after our Country Store & Café was established,” says O’Kelly. “The Country Store & Café was my baby and happily it was what turned the sawmill business around in the recession.” Over the past 10 years, the cafe has gained a reputation for high quality home baking.

As an industry-leading business, Timbertrove takes pride in being able to offer customers a wide variety of timber products and quality-made wooden fencing. “Our team of expert carpenters will happily sit down and discuss your specific requests, taking note of any legal concerns,” says O’Kelly. “From there we can then create a design based on your ideas. No matter how big or small the project may be, we know that we can complete each service to the highest standards possible.”

As a leading supplier of top-quality garden sheds in Dublin, Timbertrove is passionate about providing customers with a first-class service, from initial consultation through to installation. Timbertrove’s premium range of timber sheds are designed and manufactured in the Dublin Mountains and so are 100 per cent Irish made.

“We have learned – often the hard way – what it takes to run your own successful business,” O’Kelly says of commercial lessons the family has learned along the way. “The key elements are passion, determination, resilience and working smart,” she says, as are “being innovative, adaptable and maintaining continuous improvement as the business grows”. Going with your gut is another essential ingredient, says O’Kelly, as is never being afraid to take advice.

In addition, constant learning through reading and listening to other successful entrepreneurs is key for O’Kelly.

“Surround yourselves with great people who have experienced similar setbacks and challenges,” she advises. “Build a good team around you, hire people who have the skills you don’t. Give them authority. Be honest. Trust and respect your employees.”

O’Kelly recommends building good relationships with suppliers and customers, as well as providing top quality products and service. Don’t take shortcuts, she says.

“I can’t emphasise enough the importance of having up-to-date daily cash flow and accounts systems. As a family business, it’s vital to have a clearly defined structure for each role and try not to bring the business into the family home. What happens at work should stay there,” she says.

Being an entrepreneur looks exciting – often it is exciting – but it’s also hard work, sometimes extremely so, O’Kelly says with obvious feeling. And when things get tough – which they will – she advises staying positive, looking for opportunities and reminding yourself why you started the business in the first place.

“Always be prepared to fight for your business. Our story – the story of Timbertrove – is quite simple: we followed our dream in setting up and running a successful business, while achieving our goals along the way. We have walked the walk. We built the business from the ground up with very little money, just a dream. And now it’s great to see our children all involved in making real their own dreams.”

The Story Of Timbertrove, by Shirley O’Kelly, is published by Oak Tree Press. Available from www.SuccessStore.com and all good bookshops.

Dave Byrne, founder director of Dualtron, says the company’s success is built upon a very loyal customer base

Dualtron lives up to its motto

Founded in 1991, Dualtron Ltd is an Irish company specialising in cash processing and payment solutions for the banking, retail and hospitality sectors.

Dualtron has also developed bespoke software for the healthcare and food-service industries. Since day one the company’s customer-focused team has developed solutions and processes which help customers to run their businesses better.

Dualtron is the number-one supplier of banknote-sorting equipment for bank branch and retail ATM sites, and supports more than 3,000 cash-handling devices throughout Ireland with its experienced engineers via on-site and remote support.

“Our EPOS [electronic point of sale] and cashless payment systems are used by more than 100,000 users every day, many of whom are household names and include IT, retail, banking, telecoms, utilities and pharmaceutical and manufacturing companies, as well as universities, hospitals and schools,” says Dave Byrne, founder director of Dualtron.

Since 1991, Byrne has been directly involved with the development and expansion of the company’s capabilities in both the cash-handling and EPOS solutions industries.

“Our motto is You can count on Dualtron and we pride ourselves on our reputation for rapidly resolving customer issues,” he says. “This helped us to win the Services category at the SFA National Small Business Awards 2017, having been finalists before in 2012 and 2015. Our people are our greatest asset and customers who work with us tend to stay.”

That very loyal user base is precisely what has helped the successful growth of the business, in Byrne’s estimation.

“When we first established ourselves over 31 years ago our mission statement was clear; our customer was core and our motto that You can count on Dualtron quickly evolved to our company ethos,” he recalls. “As a business, we wanted to aspire to be the next Feargal Quinn, ensuring our growth came from delivering the highest level of customer service and thereby reaching new clients through our reputation while also retaining clients who had experienced our service first hand.”

“Dualtron offers the best in class when it comes to our team. We empower our colleagues with training which in turn allows them to deal with all our clients in a friendly and helpful manner. We believe in having a positive culture within our team which transpires to a positive impression on all our customer interactions.

“Our team listens to our customers and with our expertise and knowledge we can find the best solution for our clients based on their requirements while offering continuous support and customer service.”

Dualtron thrives on innovation and creation. Some of its highlights include: in the banking sector – foreign exchange tills; in government – mobile post-rooms; large utility – payment system for desktop vending machines; and in the healthcare sector – patient ward ordering systems.

Dualtron’s clientele is a reflection of the varied sectors in which it operates – the list includes Lidl, Bons Secours, PwC, Boston Scientific, eBay, Irish Distillers, CocaCola and PayPal.

“We are continuously investing in systems and processes which aid in providing the service and performance our clients deserve,” says Byrne. The company is committed, he adds, to continuous improvement in its corporate and social responsibility strategy, “recycling whenever we can, acting in a socially responsible way, developing long-term strategic relationships with customers and suppliers while ensuring our performance lives up to our slogan”.

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