Based in Ankerland, Fore, Co Westmeath, Nolan Engineering is a company which prides itself on being adaptable and offering an agile and customer centric approach to the engineering solutions. Building Ireland touched base with its Managing Director David Nolan to hear more about the company which reached a half a century milestone last year.
Business is thriving nowadays for Nolan Engineering and its Managing Director David Nolan anticipates that the company will double its turnover again this year.
First set-up by Ned Nolan (David’s father) back in 1974, this company has grown from humble beginnings to now offering a bespoke professional service at the highest quality standards to big-name clients throughout Ireland.
Nolan Engineering currently has 64 staff, comprising of fabricators, welders, engineers, project managers and office staff, and is headed up by David Nolan who was joined in the business by his wife Sarita Nolan in recent years as company Financial Controller.
Building Ireland spoke with David recently to hear all about the business – from its origins to the projects it has on-going at the moment.
“It was originally established by my father. I took it over 20 years ago with a business partner and bought him out in 2020. It went from four employees to 64 employees in four-and-a-half years after that,” the Managing Director outlined.
“We’re working in numerous different industries at the moment. We work in construction – structural steel in apartment blocks and housing. We design, build, assemble and install balcony systems – cantilever and supported balconies, stainless steel balconies, aluminium balconies, with various established construction companies throughout the country.
“Another one of our established core competencies is automation – we have extensive experience in robotics for commercial, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, heavy-industrial and materials processing industries. Lifting, picking, trimming and other repetitive activities and highly adaptable to automation.
“Separately, our service team are on call for breakdowns and maintenance with key clients. This is an area we are trying to further establish as part of our medium-term growth strategy.”
The team at Nolan Engineering is a highly skilled one and thoroughly committed to delivering value for its customers.
Right now, the business environment is positive for the company as it continues its growing trend and overall progress forward.
“We are on target to double our turnover again this year. This follows doubling our turnover year-on-year, every year since 2020,” said David.
“I took over 2020 and we’re now turning over more a month now than we were in a year by several multiples.”
He added: “The construction industry is very strong at the moment. We are very lucky to have established good relationships with industry leading companies such as Glenveagh Homes, Manley Construction, JJ Rhatigans, Ward & Burke to name a few. We have received sizeable orders from all the above and constantly receiving tenders requests for future projects.
“Our automation team have orders form Johnston, Mooney & O’Brien, Mergon International, Medtronic; industry leading companies across the country. It is a constant challenge to try to balance and just take on what we can do to enhance our growth strategy and be respectful to our clients where we can’t achieve their timelines and/or requirements.
“With the current labour market challenges, the number of automation projects have been reduced but not stopped, and our growth strategy sets ambitious targets in this area.
“Should the construction industry show any challenges or slow-down, we have inhouse competencies to ramp up automation projects.”
Indeed, Nolan Engineering offers a broad array of engineering capabilities supporting to its customers which operate within the industrial engineering, architectural, medical, dairy and pharmaceutical sectors.
The Westmeath-based concern is currently immersed in numerous projects which David was good enough to shed some light on.
“We’re probably in six Glenveagh (Homes) sites across Balbriggan, Navan, Leixlip, Mullingar, Trim and then we have sites with Manley Construction in Drogheda and in Rush,” he said.
“We have a sizeable education project with JJ Rhatigan. We are onsite at the moment in Cork City and Limerick City with Ward & Burke.
“Our automation team work closely with Mergon International – our products have been shipped to Mexico, South Carolina (USA), Czech Republic and the UK.”
So, all of that considered, the burning question is what has been the secret behind the undoubted success of Nolan Engineering?
How has it managed to double its revenue each year since the Covid-19 pandemic and, along with, further grow the excellent reputation that it has with its clientele?
“I have set very ambitious growth and profitability targets and we are eager to please,” David pointed out. “I have a good team around me. I have eight people in the staff – Engineers, QS’s and a strong financial team lead by Sarita. It’s after taking me five years to get them right and I have them right at the moment.
“It has given us an edge. If we get in drones, we can tweak them and put them back. Not every company has as many as we have in the office doing the type of work we’re doing.
“We’re very committed. I have nearly 40 years of experience myself working on sites across the country in various different things. Experience is key in everything and you have to be good with people.
“You have to be able to go out and sell yourself, but you also have to be able to back it up when you sell yourself. You have to deliver and I do.
“We give a personal relationship and if there is a problem on sites, I’d be the first one there. We establish good relationships with the clients early in the project and follow up with the people on the ground.”
Looking towards the coming months for the business, David says he’s eager to consolidate things and keep delivering excellent work for his clients.
“Hopefully, we can continue our growth path. I’m not sure if I want it to go double in size next year, but, at the moment, it’s looking good for the next 12 months,” the Managing Director concluded.
Nolan Engineering
Ankerland,
Fore,
Co Westmeath
Phone: +353 (0) 44 967 2830
Web: nolanengineering.ie
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, September, Vol 11 No 10
