Redundancy gave chance for building own business

ALLENWOOD, 27 October 1999: by Trish Whelan. Two women made redundant only last year are already reaping the benefits of setting up in business and taking on established firms in the competitive print management business.

Grace Dunne, from Meadowcourt estate in Naas, joined forces with her friend Miriam Keogh (Rathcoole) to form their own company G & M Print Management, having worked for 16 years with a major labelling company before it shut last year.

“The customers were left in a bad way when the plant closed, so we took the bull by the horns, set up on our own and soon had a group of very good suppliers behind us,” Grace recalls. “We realised we had a good thing going by the time we had to go to an accountant.”

While their core business started off as self adhesive labels contracts, clients began to look for all kinds of print work to be sourced by the two women and this led them to expand their own business brief. Most current clients are in the food and dairy industries and come to G & M from all over the country.

“I suppose print management is kind of new and the labelling industry is very competitive at the print end,” says Miriam, adding that it’s also renowned for being predominantly male orientated.

While initially working from a box room in Grace’s home, both realised the need for proper office space and last month moved into the new Allenwood Enterprise Park. “Travelling out here is a pleasure, with no traffic jams,” Grace says. "It’s just brilliant. You wouldn’t get the likes of this in the city, or in Naas. Anything we saw there was way beyond what we could afford. This place is a great opportunity for people starting out in business."

Allenwood Enterprise Park will be officially opened on Friday afternoon by the Minister for Finance, Charlie McCreevy TD.

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