TWO Donegal men have been named as finalists in the Irish Entrepreneur of the Year competition.

Managing Director of Inishowen Engineering Michael McKinney and Karl McHugh, CEO of The Atlantic Dawn Group in Killybegs, have been described as “unstoppable entrepreneurs, determined to overcome all obstacles and take brave risks to achieve their goals”.

After completing his apprenticeship as a pipe fitter welder in the 1990s, Michael McKinney set up his business so he could continue to work in his native Inishowen.

“There wasn’t much work back then locally and I wanted to stay in Donegal. Having a strong interest in machinery and engineering I decided to try something different and started Inishowen Engineering from there,” he said.

Specialising in metal fabrication and finishing services to national and international original equipment manufacturers, Michael saw an opportunity to grow the company so it could bring a product from concept stage to the finished article.

“We see this as our unique selling point, taking a product from concept through the stages of design, manufacturing, finishing and right through to assembly.”

Sizable investment led to modernisation in the company’s production line when it purchased Computer Numerical Controlled machinery and robotics for the production process.

“There were only a few companies in our sector going down this road at the time and because we were offering these processes and with the improved efficiencies it opened a lot of doors for us.”

Inishowen Engineering’s growth has led it to become one of the largest employers in North Inishowen. The company employs 130 people and opened the doors on a new premises in 2019 which helps to further streamline their production process.

Michael’s organisation is also part of a dynamic engineering cluster in Donegal and specifically in the greater South Inishowen area which includes among others E&I and Crana Engineering. The sector in South Inishowen employs in the region of 2,000 people.

Delegation is something that Michael strongly advocates within his business. When asked what he felt was a common mistake lots of entrepreneurs and leaders make, he said, “Trying to do everything yourself can be something all bosses tend to do, but we feel delegation is a core element to our businesses success.”

Inishowen Engineering expects the industry to change massively over the next three years as more companies begin to outsource the manufacturing of their products to new markets.

“The best thing about working at Inishowen Engineering is employees gain the opportunity to learn and develop new skills and advance within the business.”