All were welcomed by Chair of the IPBN Board Aoife Healy, and the host of the event, H.E. Ralph Victory, The Irish Ambassador to Lisbon.

Aoife Healy began the ceremony with words of welcome and highlighted the interest this year in the Award with a record-breaking number of applicants. She went on to praise the network for its continued growth and thank its members for their participation and contribution throughout the year. “The network is made for its members and by its members,” she said.

H.E. Ambassador Ralph Victory took the podium to thank the IPBN for having kept connections and networking open during a challenging year and noted that the network is as vibrant as ever and has actually increased its membership despite the obvious hardships that came along with the pandemic. He also looked into the future with confidence and noted that he was excited about the state of relationship between Ireland and Portugal.

The ceremony continued with short success story presentations from the nominees for the Business Success Award, all of whom certainly demonstrated major successes in 2021 and developed trade and business relations between Ireland and Portugal, a pre-requisite for nominees to be considered for the award itself. The panel of judges made of 3 IPBN Board of Directors also considered the nominees’ practices and achievements in the areas of sustainability, innovation, and employment.

The nominees included BridgeIn, Craftable Software, KRA Renewables, Lawler Sustainability, Lazer, Otonomee, Overcast HQ, Quinta dos Vales, Serenity Portugal, TaxLibris, RedLight, Vitae Professionals, TireCheck, and United Events Global, all representing different sectors of activities, which make the diversity and strength of the network.

Although all vying companies had made praise-worthy achievements over the last year, one company stood out from the rest.

TireCheck was announced the winner of the 3rd edition of the IPBN Business Success Award by Diogo Cruz, Director at Invest Lisboa, IPBN Board member, and member of the 2021 Award Jury.

Diogo told the audience, ““The choice of the winner was particularly difficult due to the number of amazing examples of success and resilience our members have shown in a challenging year. We were pleased to hear very positive stories from all applicants. The choice came to 5 essential criteria that TireCheck showed: Sustainability. Innovation. Job creation, the impact 2021 had and will continue to have in their business and the positive economic impact the company will have in both countries, Portugal and Ireland”

TireCheck, was represented by the company CEO Michael O'Dwyer. This technology company services the transportation sector “from measurement to management,” increasing service and safety, reducing costs and pollution, and allows clients to plan, execute, validate, and track services across multiple locations and timezones.

See more pictures from the event here