Specialising in general civil engineering groundworks, roads & sewers and other associated works on behalf of private developers, main contractors and various other clients, Eurogold Groundworks and Civil Engineering Contractors Ltd.,  has over the past 13 years, established itself as one of the premier civil engineering groundworks contractors in the North West of England. We caught up with amiable founder / managing director Damien Brickland – a modest, hard-working Offaly man who has never forgotten his roots.

Last year, Eurogold Groundworks and Civil Engineering Contractors Ltd.’s turnover grew by almost 80% from £14.9 to £26.5m. The company’s order book looks healthy up to 2016/2017, with forecasts over the next five years projecting growth of 9% over each year. A turnover of £31m is expected this year.

Eurogold – which has attained Constructionline and CHAS status for each of the last eleven years – has seen its workforce grow to 220 site operatives, comprising foremen, gangers, pipe-layers, plant operatives, bricklayers and joiners as well as a further 18 office staff. In addition, they also operate and maintain their own fleet of excavators, dumpers and vans / pick-ups.

Carrying out and / or completing works for the likes of Redrow Homes, Bellway Homes, Stewart Milne Homes, Wain Homes, Barratt Homes, Ben Bailey Homes, McCarthy & Stone, MCI Developments, Partner Construction, Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey, EuroGold has developed an excellent reputation for exceptional performance in terms of Health & Safety, quality of product and value for money.

The thriving operation represents a remarkable success story for proprietor Damien Brickland, who was born in Ballycommon, County Offaly and for whom Liverpool is now very much his adopted home.

Damien – who has been working for himself for nigh on three decades – moved to the UK under the saddest of circumstances. His mother passed away suddenly in 1966, when he was still only nine years old, and the decision was taken to sell the family home and relocate to Merseyside. The Daley family, who were good friends and still are today, bought the house and the Bricklands moved cross-channel.

Damien quickly settled into his new home – a place he grew to love. He fell in love with Liverpool and its people and enjoyed a very full and active life playing football for Liverpool Schoolboys and progressing to become a very good amateur, playing at a high level. He also had the pleasure of playing at the famous Anfield Stadium, the home of his favourite team.

Career-wise, through hard work and commitment, Damien has worked his way up the ladder and continues to ascend steadily. Looking back on the genesis of his self-made enterprise, he notes: “I started my working life as a trainee engineer for George Wimpey. As every Irish man and boy did there, I progressed to engineer and then senior engineer.

“I then got a position working for a Mayo man called Tony Killoran (Killoran Civil Engineering) which was a major step in my development to manage and help run a business. He was a hard but fair man and we became very close, both in and outside business.”

Having met his wife Sheila (the pair now have three daughters – Emma, Shoonagh and Clare), Damien became doubly determined and decided to set out in business on his own. (Emma has aspirations of continuing in her Father’s footsteps and ensuring Eurogold’s future is in safe hands.)

Damien Brickland Site Preparation Ltd. was established and quickly developed into one of the largest ground works contractors in the North West of England, before taking a fatal hit in the major recession of the late 1980s. But, with the support and encouragement of his loyal family, the Offaly man picked himself up again and, after working for a few more companies to keep his toe in the water so to speak, set up Eurogold Groundworks & Civil Engineering Contractors Ltd., which has successfully navigated the latest recession and is now going from strength to strength.

Damien is a shining example of an Irish man who has gone to England with nothing and made a tremendous success of himself by standing on his own two feet; his is a truly inspirational success story; his company a market-leading contractor with a massive emphasis on quality, safety and professionalism.

In 2013, Eurogold Groundworks & Civil Engineering Contractors Ltd. was ranked in the Top 1000 construction companies in the UK – some feat considering the choppy waters that had to be negotiated in the years leading up to that.

“We had four difficult years during the recession, from 2008,” the MD recalls. “We streamlined the business to make sure we covered our overheads and held onto our staff and thankfully we have come through.”

Fleet-wise, Damien operates almost 50 machines and has seventy vans on the road. The company enjoys a credit limit of £10.5m with suppliers and manufacturers across the UK. They invested £1.7m in plant and vehicles last year.

Looking to the future, Damien won’t be getting complacent. “I’m looking forward to consolidating the business and to perhaps even growing a little bit more, but we won’t take our eye off the ball,” he concludes. “If you think you’ve got it right, then you’ve probably got it wrong! We’ve developed a new office next door to the existing building and are looking forward to moving the business forward from our new HQ.”

Eurogold Groundworks & Civil Engineering Contractors Ltd.
18 Paramount Business Park,
Wilson Road,
Huyton,
Liverpool,
L36 6AW.
Tel: 0151 480 0089
Fax: 0151 480 1105
Email:
[email protected]

Taken from Building Ireland magazine Vol 1 No 2, Winter 2015

Civil, Contractors, Engineering, Eurogold, Groundworks