Ministerial recognition for global reach of Kilcullen company

Minister of State Damien English with the founders and staff members of Carve On this morning, along with Minister of State Martin Heydon and Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer.

"Craft-based small businesses like this that can use technology to grow are very important to the country," the Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Damien English TD, said this morning when he visited Carve On in Kilcullen, the maker of high-quality leather gifts, writes Brian Byrne.

The Minister said such businesses can keep jobs in their own communities, and can also bring back skills which may have become scarce. "You see that here in Carve On, where the work is very detailed and traditional in cutting and stitching, and then they innovate and bring in technology that enables them to scale up and deal with large orders."

Minister English was accompanied on the Carve On visit by local Minister of State Martin Heydon TD and Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer. Jacqui McNabb, Head of Enterprise at the Local Enterprise Office Kildare, introduced him to the company's founders Alan and Gary McCormack, and Robert Kennedy of the companion corporate gifts business Made Personal, and described them as 'having an astonishing story to tell' about a business that started in the McCormacks' backyard.

Gary McCormack of Carve On explaining leather quality.

Alan McCormack paid tribute to the help given by LEO Kildare and in particular Jacqui McNabb, who had been their mentor when they set out to grow Carve On, which will be ten years old next month. "They are a conduit to growth, and when we were looking at taking on our first employee, getting our first machine, they were there for us. They help you grow, as a start up, and then change what they can offer you as you grow."

He noted that Carve On had undertaken the Lean programme with LEO Kildare, designed to make manufacturing more efficient and competitive, and the Enterprise Office's help with co-investment, networking, and 'fighting your corner with Government' are invaluable advantages for a start-up.

"It's a fantastic setup, and at the Enterprise Office's own events you are constantly meeting people like yourself. Maybe they're at an earlier stage than you, and you can offer your own help, or they're a little more advanced and you can pick up tips from them."

Alan McCormack explaining a manufacturing detail.

Originally based in Kill, Carve On moved to Kilcullen six years ago, taking over and renovating the former Renley factory. There are now 11 staff working there between the two partner companies, and they will shortly be advertising for a new Digital Marketing specialist. The story of the early days of Carve On can be revisited here. 

Minister English said the success of such a craft-based company is exemplified by the fact that their products are being bought all over the world. "It shows the reach a company can have from anywhere, and that a small company in Kilcullen can compete in global terms. That's good for the local community and good for the country, and it's exactly the kind of business we are trying to build up and support through the Local Enterprise Offices." 

Jacqui McNabb, Head of Enterprise at LEO Kildare, introducing the Minister to 'an astonishing story'.

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