Boosting businesses is Terry's brief...

Monday 7 September 2009

Terry McCartney made his name in lingerie and now works in body armour. In between, he received an OBE, was awarded an honorary doctorate, wrote a novel and helped found a successful private equity business. And that was after graduating in engineering and achieving an MBA.

Terry McCartney is one of Northern Ireland's more interesting corporate heavyweights. Frequently in the media limelight when he guided textile company Adria to a £140 million turnover, he now maintains a reasonably low personal profile, but the innovative companies he helps nurture as an investor or non-executive director still often grab the headlines.

His latest major project is Global Armour, a company Amicus Partners, of which he is a founding partner, purchased in 2008. He acts as Executive Chairman and can most often be found these days at the busy company's Lisburn factory overseeing contracts to manufacture personal protection ware for police and military personnel across the world.

Terry's career has had many highs, but he is also no stranger to the sharp end of the economic cycle. As chairman and chief executive of Charnos plc and its Northern Ireland subsidiary Adria in the 1980s and 90s, he oversaw the winning and delivery of multi-million pound contracts to supply lingerie to major multiples across the UK and North America, in addition to luxury brands such as Victoria's Secret. But he also had to guide the business through difficult trading conditions, with redundancies an inevitable result.

Any advice for other entrepreneurs?

“To be successful you need a number of things: committed investors willing to take a risk, supportive bankers able to understand the business and its needs, a compelling business strategy, but most importantly an excellent management team and staff to make it all happen.

"Successful manufacturing businesses continually design new products and innovate existing ones, manufacture competitively to very high standards, sell their products globally and offer their customers the very best in customer service. It's easier than it sounds and it's a blueprint I think Northern Ireland SMEs would do well to follow."

Whether it's bras or bullet-proof vests, Terry has frequently proven that his formula really works.