Liam Nagle, CEO of Norbrook Laboratories Ltd accepted the President's Award on behalf of the late Lord Ballyedmond and his family from Chamber President, Julie Gibbons.
The President's Awards were launched in recognition of people who have made an inspirational contribution to the Greater Newry Area and Eddie Haughey most certainly falls into this category.
Lord Ballyedmond, who tragically died in 2014, founded Norbrook in 1969 and they are now one of the largest privately owned veterinary pharmaceutical companies in the world. Their products are used by veterinary surgeons and farmers in well over 100 countries across the globe.
After establishing Norbrook in Bessbrook Mill in 1969, Norbrook moved to Greenbank Industrial Estate in 1972 and after less than a decade acquired the former PYE electronics factory adjacent to Newry Train Station in 1979.
In 1989, Norbrook acquired a site in Fort Collins, Colorado with the option to build a brand new manufacturing plant to service the US veterinary market.
Around the same time, Norbrook's Station Works factory was approved to manufacture veterinary medicines by the US FDA and after a lot of deliberation Lord Ballyedmond made the decision to invest in an additional factory on the Armagh Road, Newry rather than proceeding with the US alternative.
The decision couldn't have been an easy one to make and probably was more to do with his heart than his head. The loyalty, expertise and commitment of the existing Newry workforce in 1989 was one of the deciding factors.
Since 1988, over £160m has been invested by Norbrook in Newry right across its sites in manufacturing and research facilities. Employee numbers in Newry have grown from 220 in 1988 to 1,875 in 2022.
Lord Ballyedmond was supported along his truly amazing journey by his solicitor wife, Lady Mary Ballyedmond and three children Caroline, Edward and James who all remain as active directors in Norbrook in 2022.