Irish engineer wins awards from Silverteam and Hitachi

Silverteam director Philip Larkin praised Dineen, saying: "Ireland is a relatively small market, but there is tremendous underlying growth that opens up new opportunities for drives. An example of this is that Irish engineers are very committed to protecting their beautiful local environment, so Michael has become something of a champion for energy efficiency through variable speed technology."

Dineen's environmental philosophy is very simple: "The best way to save energy is to turn your machines off. And if you cannot do that, you can probably turn them down, so install variable speed drives."

Making the presentation on behalf of Hitachi, Joe Gregory said: "Countries with a long history of manufacturing are well used to the idea of automation. But for Irish engineers it is often a first-time adventure. They have to have real faith and vision that all the effort and investment will be worthwhile, and Michael helps instil this. They have to jump from often quite low-tech production to state-of-the-art control and automation in one go in order to ensure they have international competitive systems."

Dineen has proved very good at easing his clients through all the complexities of automation. He often organises panel builders, brings in new technologies and specialists, and is on hand for installation and commissioning. Speaking about his success, he says: "Business in Ireland is all about long-term relationships. If we are not friends, the Irish cannot do business. We do not confine our relationships to commerce or technology; we really get to know one another and take pleasure in each others company."