Connolly’s Redmills
Modernising Network Security and Performance
Connolly’s RED MILLS is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of equine, pet, greyhound, and agricultural feed. Founded in County Carlow in 1908, the organisation has grown into a global business, with products distributed in over 70 countries and a long‑standing reputation for quality, innovation, and performance.
The company’s Goresbridge campus is a large and complex operational environment, comprising production mills, drying facilities, warehouses, laboratories, and administrative offices. Supporting this operation is a multi‑site network, with six additional locations connected to Goresbridge via MPLS, making network reliability and security mission‑critical to daily operations.
The problem
Over time, Connolly’s RED MILLS’ network had evolved organically, with production networks largely managed by third‑party suppliers and administrative networks maintained separately. This resulted in a fragmented environment with multiple switch vendors, inconsistent configurations, and limited central visibility.
As the network grew, performance and stability issues began to impact production. Troubleshooting outages or slowdowns was time‑consuming and disruptive, often requiring complex investigative processes to identify root causes. From a security perspective, the lack of centralised management also made it difficult to establish consistent controls or a clear performance baseline.
Connolly’s RED MILLS needed a modern, resilient network architecture that would provide end‑to‑end security, simplify management, and improve performance across all sites.
The solution
HCS designed and implemented a Fortinet Security Fabric architecture to deliver unified security and centralised network management across the entire organisation.
The network was redesigned to provide high availability and resilience at the Goresbridge site, with core switches and firewalls configured for failover and dual network paths deployed to key cabinet locations. Using VLANs, multiple physical networks were consolidated into a single, structured architecture while maintaining appropriate segmentation between production and administrative systems.
By extending the Fortinet platform across all MPLS‑connected sites, HCS enabled true single‑pane‑of‑glass visibility and control, allowing policies to be consistently applied and managed across the full network estate.
The Fortinet solution that HCS implemented has been a game changer for us. It’s more secure, performance is much improved, and the centralised control makes it easy to manage and maintain.
Results
Improved Security, Performance and Control
Improved Network Performance
Staff experienced immediate performance gains following implementation, supporting both production systems and office operations.
Centralised Visibility and Control
A single management platform provides real‑time insight into network health, security events, and performance across all sites.
Enhanced Security at Every Layer
Firewall protection was extended down to every port, delivering consistent security controls throughout the environment.
High Availability and Resilience
Redundant paths and failover configurations significantly reduced the risk of downtime at critical locations.
Simplified Management
Standardised hardware and policies reduced complexity and made ongoing administration far more efficient.
Future‑Proofed Network Architecture
The new design provides a scalable foundation that can evolve with the business and support future growth.
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