McConway Construction is a leading construction firm out west which specialises in contracting and development work for its clients. Building Ireland spoke with the company’s founder Gene McConway recently to hear all about the projects that it’s currently working on and the others which are on the horizon.
Business is good these days at McConway Construction as the Co Galway firm continues to deliver excellent projects for its clients.
Operating with 40 full-time staff, the company provides its clientele with the highest standard of construction solutions thanks to its extensive experience, collaborative performance and best practice in construction.
Since its inception in 2011, McConway Construction has grown year on year, adding a second location along the way in Castlebar where it’s currently working on a handful of different developments.
Building Ireland caught up with Managing Director Gene McConway to learn more.
“We’ve had a good year and we were very busy with one particular contract in Galway for Rhenus Logistics, which was 125,000 square feet,” he outlined.
“The project would’ve started in September 2022 and its completion date was November 2023. We also finished off Caragh Precision, which was a project there in Galway, last year as well.”
He added: “We’re nice and steady work flow wise. We’re finishing off the development in Carrabeag in Castlebar which is 68 houses and that’ll be completed in March. We started a job there in September 2023 in Watersville in Castlebar as well which is 10 high-end houses, and another development just before Christmas with 30 houses which is in Glenfort.
“We’ll be starting a new project in the next couple of months in Castlebar on the Rathbaun Road with 40 houses in it, and we’ve our own development in the industrial estate on the Breaffy Road which we hope to start later on this year for ourselves. That’s the plan anyway.”
Busy times indeed, but rewind back to the beginning and things were much different.
Thirteen years ago, McConway Construction was a company born in the midst of a harsh economic recession and started off specialising solely in contracting work.
As time passed, Gene’s construction venture branched out into development work and it was the completion a 22,000 square foot extension that really showcased the company’s qualities, putting them on the map so to speak.
Today, McConway Construction’s name is well established in the construction game throughout the west of the country and it seems the projects keep coming.
So, all of that considered, the clear question is what has been the secret behind its success to date?
How has a small start-up grown into what is today a very much thriving construction firm that holds a first-rate reputation amongst its clients.
Gene, who is also a qualified Civil Engineer, says the motto ‘Big enough to do the job and small enough to care’ goes a long way towards explaining what McConway Construction is all about.
“We’re quite adaptable and are flexible in how we work. We don’t going crazy charging additions or that. We work well with the clients and in turn, thankfully, we get repeat business off our clients.
“It’s all nearly repeat business with them. We’ve a new job we started there in August for KOG Logistics, which is a 50,000 square foot extension to their logistics plant in Castlebar as well. We’ll be finishing that job up in March and that’s a new client that we got and they’re already talking about possibility doing further expansions.
“It’s nice to get the new clients on the books as well so as you’ll have more clients for the repeat business.”
Repeat business has been the name of the game for the company and the hopes are that, with the workload it has, that it’ll be adding another 10 employees over the next 12 months between engineers and site managers.
Since ‘Day One’, McConway Construction’s approach has been based on collaboration and it works closely with clients and its in-house design team to ensure great design and high-quality homes.
It’s a firm which is committed to delivering projects on time and exceeding clients’ expectations by combining its approach and the collaboration with all project participants.
Looking at the year ahead for the business, Gene sees a bright outlook although, wisely enough, he won’t be looking too far ahead.
“I’d be quite positive in that on the development end of things. It’s so far, so good in Castlebar where we primarily do it and we haven’t had any fall off in any sales enquiries or that to date,” said the company MD.
“With regards to the contracting branch of the company, as I said, we’re finished a very big job in Galway and we’re at the KOG Logistics at the moment and another one starting in June in Galway as well.
“So, both sides seem to be going quite steady for us and I’d be positive that, with this year, we’ll have a steady work flow.
“In construction, you can never look too far ahead.”
Hear, hear.
McConway Construction
Unit 44 Glenrock Business Park,
Bothar na Mine,
Ballybane,
Co Galway
H91 VR94
Email: [email protected]
Tel: 091 770 818
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, May 2024, Vol 10 No 5
