Almac’s founder, the late Sir Allen McClay, was posthumously honoured at Northern Ireland’s first Craigavon Business Awards. Lady Heather McClay was presented with the ‘Special Recognition Award’, which acknowledged the outstanding contributions Sir Allen made to both the pharmaceuticals business and the local Northern Ireland economy.
Additionally, a second award, ‘Young Business Person of the Year’ has been named in Sir Allen’s honour. This year, the winner was Gareth Cairns, the founder of local agricultural engineering company SlurryKat. Valuable mentoring, provided by Almac and seven of its business partners, accompanies this award.
Almac was also awarded ‘Best Export Initiative’ in recognition of how it expanded its customer base and increased international competitiveness.
‘Everyone at Almac is immensely proud of everything Allen achieved in his life, both for the local economy and the wider pharmaceuticals industry,’ said Almac CEO, Alan Armstrong.
‘Allen had particular faith in talented young people and would no doubt have been extremely pleased to be associated with the Young Business Person award. Almac looks forward to continuing Allen’s creative ethos for driving innovation in the pharmaceuticals sector, while supporting the Northern Irish economy.’