20 minutes with: Joe and Bill Connolly, Connolly’s Red Mills.

What’s the greatest challenge of running a family business?

Bill: When you are working for yourself in a family business, you are always thinking about the business. My father used to say this was part and parcel of working for yourself. You are continuously representing your business in every conversation or meeting.

How do you plan for succession?

Joe: Some family companies set up boards in an effort to keep all the family members involved. We believe that it is necessary to work in the company in order to have an understanding of how the business works. In our case, Bill and I were selected to take over the business from our late father Liam Connolly. We started in the company as teenagers, worked our way up and now we run the business as a partnership. All decisions are made jointly.

Have you started planning for the next generation?

Joe: Yes, all of our children have worked in the business at some point, during school holidays and in some cases came to work for us after they qualified. Gareth, John and William Connolly are part of the fifth generation and are progressing through the business as both Bill and I did.

Do you buy grain from local farmers?

Bill: We have 300 grain growers supplying us with approximately 80,000t of grain per annum. Ireland is a net importer of grain as demand for native grain exceeds supply. The world has got smaller and global factors are affecting the price of grain more than ever.

How have you developed the export side of the business?

Bill: Our brother Michael heads up the export team. He took over the export sales in 1993 and has grown the business from mainland EU to the current 74 countries worldwide. While saying that, we are firmly committed to continuously growing our share of the Irish market. If you cannot do business at home there is no point in going abroad. The reputation of our feeds has allowed us to progress from one international market to the next. We really emphasise the quality and consistency of our feeds.

What’s your secret to success?

Joe: There is no secret. From a business management perspective, we are positive people who work hard at manufacturing and promoting top quality products. I believe the opportunity of a lifetime must be taken in the lifetime of the opportunity. We availed of the opportunities we identified over the years and continue to invest in our business and our people.