Five businesses from County Galway have taken honours at the prestigious Irish Auto Trade Awards 2017, which took place at Citywest Hotel in Dublin. The awards are a celebration of excellence in the Irish auto trade in Ireland, a sector that accounts for over 35,000 jobs.
Donnellans Auto Service, Oranmore, scooped the National award for Independent Workshop of the Year.
Four other Galway-based businesses won the respective Connacht-Ulster titles at the Irish Auto Trade Awards. They are Frank Byrnes Autobody Repair, Oranmore (Bodyshop ); Top Part/Partway, Tuam Road (Motor Factor ); Colm Quinn BMW, Tuam Road (Franchise Dealer Aftersales ); and Kenny Galway, Tuam Road (Franchise Dealer Trade Parts ), all winning their respective categories for the Connacht-Ulster Region.
Retail auto businesses undergo a rigorous selection process that includes phone and personal mystery shops before being finally adjudicated on. Manufacturer and distributor companies were shortlisted based on votes received by readers of the Irish Auto Trade Journal over recent months.
The gala event attracted in excess of 630 leading figures from the motor industry in Ireland and coincided with the Auto Trade EXPO in the nearby Citywest Exhibition Centre and Arena, on last Saturday and Sunday.
The EXPO attracted a record 7,800 plus visitors and nearly 200 trade exhibitor stands from the auto aftermarket, including parts, components, tools, equipment and the service sectors. Among those exhibiting were five Galway businesses: Acorn Insurance; Kevin Burke Tyres (Athenry ); John Casserole Engineering (Claregalway ), Park Tyres (Tuam ) and Mileage Tyres.
According to the Irish Auto Trade Awards organiser Padraic Deane of Automotive Publications, “These regional and national awards are all about standards, and about rewarding those often overlooked businesses across the country who excel in how they serve the customer. Every year it is getting harder to separate the great from the good!“
