On Friday,April 27th at the RDS Concert Hall, Dublin the winners of the Irish Franchise Awards 2012 were announced and Dundalk based business Car Medic scooped 2 silver medals presented by Minister for small business John Perry, TD. The Irish Franchise Awards recognise excellence in franchisingand rewards the outstanding achievements of businesses and individuals in the franchise industry. Car Medic was awarded a silver medal in the category of Best Emerging Franchise and a further silver medal in the Most Innovative Marketing Category. The judging panel for the 2012 Ulster Bank Irish Franchise Association Awards included Irish Dragon and Newstalk Presenter Bobby Kerr; Orna Stokes, Senior Manager SME & Franchising Ulster Bank; Orla Nugent, Director Executive MBA, UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School; Greg Swift of Dublin County Enterprise Board and Cian O Mongain from the Sunday Business Post.
The award categories represented both retail and service industries and local businessman Paul Callan shared the stage with Irish and International household names. McDonalds were presented with the “Outstanding Contribution to Franchising in Ireland” Award and other award winners included Boston Brand Bars, Fastway Couriers, The Zipyard, CEX, Funky Monkeys, Hillbilly’s Fried Chicken, FitKids, Cartridge Green, Motivation Weight Management Clinics, Snap and Chem-Dry Ireland. Paul Callan, Master Franchisor of Car Medic in Ireland said “We are thrilled to have won these two awards and to share the stage with such long established franchises is a great honour for a small business like us just getting started. We pride ourselves in providing our customers with the very best value and quality of service and depend upon the general public in our day to day repair business. Our new Silver Franchise packages give people an opportunity to work for themselves but not by themselves at a relatively low start up cost. We are thrilled to have 2 silver medals to go with our silver franchise packages”
Car Medic repair cosmetic damages, scuffs and scratches to vehicles at customers’ homes or places of work and offer outstanding value due to a clever franchise model and low overheads. New cars depreciate from the moment they leave the showroom and used cars, particularly those bought in affluent times, are most often now in negative equity so people are trying to keep their cars on the road longer. The Car Medic innovative SMART repair system is up to 70% cheaper than body shops and uses the best quality products available. Car Medic also takes the body shop to the customer at work or at home with their fully equipped mobile units so the vehicle can be repaired in hours rather than days. See www.carmedic.ie
The Irish Franchise Awards ran in conjunction with the Ulster Bank Irish Franchise Association EXPO which took place on Friday 27th and Saturday 28th of April at The RDS. The exhibition was a showcase for Irish franchisors and the franchising sector displaying excellent franchise opportunities while maintaining a strong focus on business format franchising. Car Medic was a highlight at the EXPO and one of the most popular stands. The awards were presented at the RDS Concert Hall on Friday April 27th 2012. The ceremony was an impressive business event reflecting the strength of the franchise sector in these challenging times. According to the latest Irish Franchise survey, the sector contributes €2.4 billion to the Irish economy with 4,086 operating units on the island of Ireland and provides 42,927 full-time equivalent jobs to the economy.
