Simon McGuinness of Homecare Medical talks to us about his family business based in Co. Mayo
What prompted Peter to start the business?
The business was set up by my father and mother, Peter and Mary, and my uncle Noel back in 1988. Peter used to work in the social welfare office here in Mayo and he continually questioned why people were regularly complaining to him about the State’s inability to provide them with what he considered were some basic products they needed, but many couldn’t afford. He investigated this, began to understand what was needed and why, and eventually, on account of his entrepreneurial spirit, he decided he could solve a need, that some vulnerable people needed access to some basic products they could use as carers in their own homes and maybe start a business out of it. I don’t think there was any grand plan to start a business that would eventually employ 100 people, but there was obviously a gap and a need and a very strong ‘can do’ attitude aiming to address the problem. That is how the seeds of Homecare Medical were sown. It flourished in the first few years. There were five siblings in our family and we grew up picking and packing products in boxes in the turf shed and packing the van. So the business has been part of our lives as long as we know it and there are 3 of the siblings now directly involved in the business now. The second generation is taking more responsibility on board and taking the business on to its next chapter.
When we think of family businesses we tend to think of 4 or 5 people, a shop or something small, but this is still a family business but with 100+ people employed. Tell us how this developed and how it stayed a family business.
Right at the very beginning it was very much a family business with my parents and uncle directly involved and as we grew up as children we became involved too. Unknown to us at the time, all members of the extended family, uncles and aunts, were also helping out with whatever needed to be done in the early years of the business. The business attracted people who were keen to work and we have employees in the business today who have been with us over 20 years. Many of their children worked with Homecare during holiday periods while they came through their college programmes and we have seen that ‘family’ ethos evident in the business over the years. Because we have long-standing employees and they have siblings who want employment we try to facilitate that if possible. It does create a wider ‘family-feel’ to the business despite the fact that we are now a 130+ employee business.
In 1988 Ireland was in the middle of a major wave of emigration due to economic recession. The business was not only set up in an unusual location but at a difficult time economically.
Yes, we have some enjoyable discussions around the family dinner table! When the second generation begin to complain about the latest rise in interest rates our parents quietly remind us what it was like in the late 80’s and early 90’s. It is all the more remarkable that they withstood the pressure of 14-17% interest rates. The country was out of work and they were great to be able to rear a family and for the business to go on and prosper given that context. Perhaps we don’t have it so bad now!
Another factor at that time was that the people who remained in Mayo at that time were hugely committed to the businesses they worked for and wanted them to succeed. The McGuinness family members would attest to the fact that the people working in Homecare in those early days were crucial to get the business off the ground and to sustain it. They showed real commitment to their local areas and the businesses in those areas.
What it is the split of employment across different sites?
In total there are 132 employees. In the National Service & Decontamination Centre in Kiltimagh would employ 15-20, some would be working remotely, some on the road. The vast majority would be in the head office in Ballyhaunis including logistics and head office operations, another 60-70 people. The balance would be in the regional logistics hubs and of course the 10 retails shops around the country which could have 2-3 people in each. The majority are still based in Mayo.
Presumably there are people working there who would otherwise have had to emigrate?
Yes, for sure. The opposite is also true. We have also benefitted in recent years from two key demographics. There are people who left the area because of the financial crash of 2008 coming home now to set up families, bringing partners and children with skills leading to more talent being available. Also, the cost of living crisis is pushing people out of large urban centres, leading to an increase in the talent pool within 30 mins of Ballyhaunis. While many left, a lot of talent has come home too.
You must provide a lot of business to other local firms, hotels, catering firms. Tell me a bit about that.
We might be slightly disadvantaged in East Mayo in that we are not a tourist trap and don’t have the trappings of places like Galway and Westport. Nonetheless we are quite lucky in that a lot of the hotels, shops and restaurants are hugely supportive of each other. So if we have international suppliers from in all over the world, the local B&B’s, guesthouses, hotels and restaurants that they are brought to and entertained in are very important. Similarly with 60-70 people based in a HQ that brings business to the local area. If we are having events like think-tanks, parties, get together we try to keep them local and that has a huge impact because they are all struggling as well.
Any other local businesses that you use?
There would also be local services, such as cleaning, maintenance, facilities maintenance, etc. There would be long-terms relationships with some of those suppliers like stationery providers, businesses who have supplied us for 30+ years. And they are all based in the greater Mayo area. These relationships are very important and it is good to keep them all on board.
In terms of links with community organisations I presume you are probably involved with sponsorships and charitable giving?
This is not an area we are very comfortable talking about to be honest. We support local GAA clubs/teams. There is a charitable initiative where Homecare works with employees to allocate a % of salary every month with a raffle held to choose which employee-suggested charity is to benefit. In 2023, over €20k was collected in this way.
In terms of sustainability initiatives, what can you tell me about Homecare’s role in that area?
Homecare is quite a quality-driven organisation and there are several international quality standards we adhere to including ISO 13485 with is the medical device one which is very important to us but also the ISO 14001 which is the environmental sustainability standard. Recently we have conducted an audit of our performance in terms of waste management and in 2023 alone, Homecare achieved 120 tons of waste that was pulled back from going to landfill and adequately recycled. That includes plastics, cardboard, aluminium cans, etc and that continues to be a focus of everyday life in Homecare which is really important to us.
We have recently taken on a 3-year investment programme in solar particularly in our distribution centre in Kiltimagh. This involved significant tens of thousands of euros of investment with a view to being self-sufficient in energy consumption. That was rolled out in 2023 in Kiltimagh and we hope by mid-to-late 2024 both sites will be fully operational where we will be able to generate our own electricity and also give back to the grid. That will be transformational in terms of our sustainability. That will lead on then to trying to harness that energy in a more efficient manner and there are plans to implement more EV charging stations in both Mayo sites so that employees can avail of that electricity to help them in their change over to EV vehicles. So there are lots of initiatives ongoing and more to come.
What are the future plans for the business?
We have made quite a significant investment in our people in the past year and we are fortunate to have really bright people in key positions in the organisation who have great ideas about the industry. It is widely regarded that the ageing demographic in Ireland isn’t going to go away. We are in the business of looking after those who are being cared for, the carers themselves and those who are providing self-care at home. That is not going to change over the next number of years and we see a gradual shift towards people empowering themselves to be able to look after themselves and their loved ones at home. So there will be renewed focus on our retail shops around the country and the products and services we will be offering from these shops. We are optimistic about the growth potential for the business but we have to be mindful that we were similarly optimistic in early 2020 and we all know what happened in March of that year!
We are operating in an international market now whether we like it or not and we have to be mindful of everything else that is going on in the world while remaining positive in our outlook. We are here to stay and there are a lot of good things happening. We will be launching a new website in the first 6 months of this year which is really positive and we have a brand launch happening also so lots of really positive stuff in the medium- and long-term.
What does it mean to Homecare Medical be a member of GI?
We would be led by what our customers say and in the last couple of years it has been quite evident that there was a huge push to support local and to support Irish. We didn’t realise the impact of this until customers starting telling us how important it was that we had the shops where we had them and the range of products available in those locations. They value the fact that we are an Irish company and that we are providing local employment. As a result, you can see that as a company there is real importance put on the Guaranteed Irish membership and what it brings. There is a huge synergy among businesses across different markets who are not in isolation. When you get to network and talk to these businesses it is really powerful as well.
to learn more about Homecare Medical, visit their website Homecare Medical
