Based in Clongrennane, Co Carlow, Falcon Builders has amassed a reputation for quality construction workmanship and reliability amongst its customers. Building Ireland spoke with its founder and Managing Director John Minion to hear all about this thriving business and what separates it from the competition.
When Carlow man John Minion went out on his own in the building game a quarter of a century ago, he did so with the intention of one day running a successful company which was renowned for its quality work and reliability.
Today, Falcon Building is a construction firm which uses only the finest materials and craftsmanship on its projects and is well-known around the Carlow region for completing its work on time and within budget.
Services that the company provides include new builds, extensions, interior/exterior renovations, attic conversion, emergency repairs and interior/exterior decoration, as well as drone survey and inspections.
Building Ireland caught up with John Minion recently to discuss the ins and outs of his business – from its origins the projects it has on-going at the moment.
“I’m working for myself since 1999 and we’re established as Falcon Builders since 2007,” he outlined
“We have eight full-time staff working here. I’m Managing Director and my daughter Stephanie Minion works for me as a carpenter.
“We specialise in renovating old buildings. So, it’d be the likes of cottages and big old houses and we would do new builds as well.”
Indeed, the company’s motto is ‘If you can dream it…We can build it’ and John and his team in Clongrennane are proud to stand by those words day in and day out.
When it comes to residential projects, Falcon Builders provides a range of construction services that include new build projects, extensions, renovations, attic conversions, roof repairs, plastering, plumbing, flooring, decking and patios.
On the commercial end, it has a depth of knowledge and experience in working to architect specifications, bringing 25 years of experience to the provision of a diverse array of commercial developments.
“I come from a farming background. To be honest with you, farming was something I just never liked doing so I just got into the building end of it instead,” John reflected on his company’s origins.
“That was more or less it. When I started out with the building, it was hard enough to get started and I’d worked in Milltown Engineering and places like that to learn the industry, I suppose you could say.
“I started out on my own then in ‘99 doing the building work and it just grew from there.”
He added: “Right now, business is good. It’s very busy here for us at the moment and we would do all of our work around Carlow and say the likes of Bagenalstown and Goresbridge. So, it’s places like that and we don’t travel too far. We don’t have to.”
At the minute, Falcon Builders is immersed in several different projects in the Carlow area.
Some of those projects are set to carry into next year when the business will be coming into its 19th year in operation.
“We’re doing an old house out in Bagenalstown at the minute that would be a couple of hundred years old, if not more. There’s a lot of work to be done with it and we’ve just pulled down roofs, so everything has to be done from scratch again,” John explained.
“We’re doing another place which is a new build that would have boardrooms, kitchens and dining rooms in it. That sort of stuff.
“We’re pricing houses all the time and then we’d have another new build coming up in two or three months’ time.
“The projects that we’re on at the moment are going to last a while, with probably another two or three months in them anyway.”
That considered, the burning question is what has been the secret behind the success of Falcon Builders to date?
How has a small start-up grown into what is now very much a thriving construction firm which holds a golden reputation amongst its clients?
“It’s because we’re the best at our business,” John stated plainly. The reason we get the work we get is because our name is being passed on from person to person.
“We get good recommendations from people that we do work for and, when we start doing the work for people and they want to make changes or whatever, there’s never an issue with it. If somebody wants something done or something different, we do it for them. We try to make their life as easy as possible when we’re doing the job for them.
“We do a lot of work for clients that have apartments and that, and we can go in and renovate the apartments for them. We fit kitchens, fit windows, paint the building, floors; there’s nothing that we do. When we walk out, it’s a turnkey finish and that’s why clients choose us because they don’t have to worry about getting in plumbers and electricians and all that. We supply everything for them.”
Looking at the months ahead for Falcon Builders and into next year, its founder is keen for more of the same business-wise as the company continues to grow its reputation through delivering excellent projects time and time again.
“We want to just stay what we’re doing because that’s what works for us and that’s what works for our clients.
“It’s impossible nowadays for the normal person to get an electrician or get a plumber because they’re just impossible to get. When we come in, we bring everyone with us and that’s what we’re going to stay doing.
“At the end of the day, our name is the most important part to us and we make sure that our clients are happy before we walk out of that project,” John concluded.
Falcon Builders
Clogrennane,
Co Carlow.
Mobile: 086 410 0128
Email: [email protected]
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, December 2024, Vol 10 No 12
