Family business: Innovating quickly, a real recipe for success
Family values: Timbertrove director Shirley Kelly with her husband Henry and their children Danielle, Ciara and Conor.
When you talk to owners of businesses operating for 30 years and more, it doesn’t take long to see that have an alertness that sets them apart.
They’re just as good at listening as they are at talking. They have a story to tell, but they’re also very interested in your story. Having weathered every challenge from the implosion of global banking to Brexit and the pandemic, it’s like they’ve come to expect that no two years are ever the same.
Here are two business owners operating in very different sectors. The main factor they have in common is their longevity — decades of sustained business success.
In the early 1980s, the initial operations of O’Kelly’s Sawmill and The Shed Man began in the Dublin Mountains, and was officially established in 1986.
Over the past 30 years, the company has grown and re-branded under the name Timbertrove — a unique, award-winning, 100% Irish-owned family business with years of experience in the design, manufacture and installation of top-quality timber products.
Shirley O’Kelly is a director of Timbertrove O’Kelly Sawmills and Country Store & Café, situated in the Dublin Mountains just below the Hellfire Club.
Shirley runs the business with her husband Henry, and their children, Danielle, Ciara and Conor.
“We believe our success is based on differentiation through innovative design, quality materials and craftsmanship, in addition to superior customer service. We have a very experienced and dedicated workforce.” The company is C2 registered and fully insured.
“Since 2009, we've been serving coffee, with our Timbertrove scones quickly becoming our best-selling product soon after our Country Store & Cafe was established,” Shirley explains. “The Country Store & Café was my ‘baby’, and happily it was what turned the sawmill business around in the recession.”
Over the past 10 years, the cafe has gained a reputation within the locality and beyond for the superior quality of its home baking. As an industry-leading business, Timbertrove takes pride in being able to offer customers a wide variety of different timber products and quality-made wooden fencing.
“Our team of expert carpenters will happily sit down and discuss all of your specific requests, taking note of any legal concerns, from here we can then create a design based on your ideas. No matter how big or small the project may be, we know that we can complete each service to the highest standards possible.”
As the leading supplier of top-quality garden sheds in Dublin, Timbertrove are passionate about providing customers with a first-class service from the initial consultation through to the installation. Timbertrove’s premium range of timber sheds are designed and manufactured in the Dublin Mountains, guaranteeing they’re 100% Irish made.
“We have learnt — often the hard way — what it takes to run your own successful business,” Shirley says of the commercial lessons learnt along the way. “The key elements are passion, determination, resilience and working smart. Being innovative, adaptable and maintaining continuous improvement as the business grows — and never be afraid to take advice - and then going with your gut.”
In addition, Shirley says constant learning, through reading and listening from other successful entrepreneurs, is key.
“Surround ourselves with great people who have experienced similar setbacks and challenges. Build a good team around you, hire people who have the skills you don’t. Give them authority. Be honest. Trust and respect your employees.”
She also lists building good relationships with suppliers and customers, as well as providing top quality products and service. Don’t take shortcuts.
“I can’t emphasise enough the importance of having up-to-date daily cash flow and accounts systems. As a family business, it’s vital to have a clearly defined structure for each role and try not to bring the business into the family home. What happens at work should stay there.”
Being an entrepreneur looks exciting — it often is exciting — but it’s also hard work, sometimes very hard work, Shirley says with obvious feeling. And when things get tough (which they will), Shirley advises staying positive, looking for the opportunities and remind yourself why you started the business in the first place.
“Always be prepared to fight for your business. Our story — the story of Timbertrove — is quite simple: we followed our dream in setting up and running a successful business, while achieving our goals along the way. We have walked the talk! We built the business from the ground up with very little money, just a dream! And now it’s great to see our children, Danielle, Ciara and Conor all involved in making real their own dreams.”
The Story Of Timbertrove, by Shirley O’Kelly, is published by Oak Tree Press. Available from and all good bookshops.
Dualtron Ltd, founded in 1991, is an Irish company specialising in cash processing and payment solutions for Banking, Retail and Hospitality sectors.
Dualtron has also developed bespoke software solutions for the Healthcare and Food Service industries. Since day one the company’s customer-focused team have developed solutions and processes which help customers to run their businesses better.
Dualtron is the number one supplier of banknote sorting equipment for bank branch and retail ATM sites, and supports more than 3,000 cash handling devices in every town and village in Ireland with its experienced engineers, through on-site and remote support.
“Our EPOS and cashless payment systems are used by more than 100,000 users every day many of whom are household names and include I.T., Retail, Banking, Telecoms, Utilities, Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing companies, as well as Universities, Hospitals and Schools,” says Dave Byrne, founder director of Dualtron.
Since 1991, he has been directly involved with the development and expansion of the company’s capabilities in both the cash handling and EPOS solutions industries.
“Our motto is ‘You can count on Dualtron’ and we pride ourselves on our reputation for rapidly resolving customer issues. This helped us to win the Services category at the SFA National Small Business Awards 2017, having been finalists before in 2012 and 2015. Our people are our greatest asset and customers who work with us tend to stay.”
Dave adds that Dualtron has a very loyal user base which has helped grow the business successfully.
“When we first established ourselves over 31 years ago our mission statement was clear, our customer was core and our motto that ‘You can count on Dualtron’ quickly evolved to our company ethos. As a business we wanted to aspire to be the next Fergal Quinn, ensuring our growth came from delivering the highest level of customer service and therefore reaching new clients through our reputation while also retaining clients who had experienced our service firsthand,” he adds.
“Dualtron offers the best in class when it comes to our team, we empower our colleagues with training which in turn allows them to deal with all our clients in a friendly and helpful manner. We believe in having a positive culture within our team which transpires to a positive impression on all our customer interactions.
"Our team listens to our customers and with our expertise and knowledge we can find the best solution for our clients based on their requirements while offering continuous support and customer service.” Dualtron thrives on innovation and creation, some of the key highlights include: Banking Sector — Foreign Exchange Tills; Government — Mobile Post-Rooms; Large Utility — Payment System for desktop vending machines; and in the Healthcare Sector — Patient ward ordering systems.
The Dualtron clientele is a reflection of the varied industry sectors it operates in — Lidl, Bons Secours, PwC, Boston Scientific, eBay, Irish Distillers, CocaCola and PayPal.
“We are continuously investing in systems and processes which aid in providing the service and performance which our clients deserve. Our business has been recognized over the years reaching the final twice before picking up the award for services at the 2017 SFA annual awards.”
Dualtron is committed to continuous improvement in its Corporate and Social Responsibility strategy: “Recycling whenever we can, acting in a socially responsible way, developing long term strategic relationships with customers and suppliers while ensuring our performance to lives up to our slogan ‘You Can Count on Dualtron’."
