Irish tool manufacturer Pro-Tray’s website has received the Professional Services in Business Category and the Overall Winner categories at the Carlow Web Awards 2023. The event is organised by the Carlow County Council and its Local Enterprise Office to acknowledge and promote Carlow-based SMEs that have developed digital and web marketing platforms as part of their product offering.
“I was blown away to receive not one but two awards on the night,” said Director Tony Kelly. “The help of the Carlow Local Enterprise office has been instrumental to Pro-Tray’s success. I would advise anyone out there who is looking to start a business or may think they have the solution to a problem to approach their Local Enterprise Office. They will advise you on how to get started on the same road to success as Pro-Tray has had with our patented designed products.”
According to Tony, having an online presence is essential. “The website has given us a great platform to advertise upcoming events, as well as to sell our products. We have a strong social media presence too, and this has been instrumental in growing the brand to where we are today. Our strong red and black branding makes us stand out.”
Pro-Tray is no stranger to this accolade. In 2022, the company won the Best Export Website at the Carlow Web Awards, which rewards the website that best promotes its business to export markets.
Everything at hand
As an exhibitor at the ELECTEX Belfast trade show, promoted by Ireland’s Electrical Magazine, Pro-Tray launched a new product, the mobile elevating work platform (MEWP)/Alloyed Tower Scaffold (ATS) Tool Tray. The product went from concept to design in just a couple of weeks and was created with the end-user in mind.
The Tool Tray allows the installer to have all hand tools, battery-powered tools and nuts and bolts within reach and at working height. It features tethering points for working at height, avoiding manual handling issues and the need to stoop down all day. It also allows the user to remove any trip hazards within the MEWPs or ATS.The new Tool Tray can also be used on a mobile stand for workshop floors and building sites.
“We had great feedback from large companies about the Tool Tray at ELECTEX Belfast. This new product is much needed within our industry and is being pushed through its final stages of safety testing at the moment. It should be in the market by July,” Tony explained. However, Pro-Tray is already taking pre-orders. Another Pro-Tray product that keeps the necessary materials for installations at hand is the Cable Dolly. It comes with various combinations of cable drum set up and fully adjustable drum mounts, ranging from a height of 300mm to a 515mm drum bar. The Cable Dolly is already available at Pro-Tray stockists. Pro-Tray put its name on the map with the launch of the M6 Roofing bolt socket set in 2015. The product was designed by Tony out of pure necessity and ingenuity, as there were no appropriate tools to fix cable management systems down to a uni-strut or strut channel bracketing system.
Pro-Tray at Tool Monster
Now Tony plans on growing the online presence and offering the Pro-Tray Range on other platforms like Amazon, but the company has big plans for their products in local merchants as well.
At ELECTEX Belfast Pro-Tray also secured Tool Monster as a stockist and brand ambassador. According to Tony, securing Tool Monster as a stockist has been instrumental to the growth of Pro-Tray and brand awareness. They have seen massive growth in sales through the Tool Monster online store. “This is why we take part in the ELECTEX trade shows: it gives us the marketing platform with some of the top names in the business,” he concluded.
T: +353 (0)85 741 1506
