Founded in 2012 by Charlie McCarron and Colm Griffin, Gael Form Ltd has grown rapidly to become one of Europe’s leading suppliers of quality formwork, formwork accessories and refurbishment. The young and dynamic company supplies products and services to the engineering, construction and precast concrete sectors.
Charlie, a native of Annagry, Co. Donegal and Colm, who hails from Rathcairn, Co. Meath (both Gaeltacht villages!), had accumulated a wealth of experience in the trade before setting up their own company three years ago. Initially, Gael Form operated from Trim, Co. Meath, but now has offices in Ashbourne, Co. Meath and London. These offices are ideally located to provide customers with ease of access to Gael Form’s extensive range of products and services.
“When we set up the company, Ireland was still in recession, so we had to go after the English market. It was as simple as that,” Charlie explains.
“The London market was particularly buoyant and that led to us opening an office there. About 80 per cent of our work is carried out in the UK, but there are signs of a recovery at home. We started out with three staff and now employ 17. This growth wouldn’t have been possible if we hadn’t entered the UK market.”
Gael Form believes in keeping things simple for its customers and that the best business is built on reliable and efficient service. The company delivers solutions that are functionally efficient at the most cost-effective rates on the international market.
Gael Form’s core values are reliability, responsibility and efficiency. As a result of its high flexibility, interactive methods and agile management structure, the company can always meet its clients’ needs. It strives to exceed clients’ expectations and endeavours to become an asset to their business.
The most competitive prices are always guaranteed as Charlie explains: “We won’t be beaten on price and that’s a big reason why we’ve had a successful first three years in business. We are much cheaper than the big multinationals, whose mark-ups are high. I know this from having worked for them in the past.”
Gael Form stocks a large range of formwork and formwork accessories such as DMP, Doka, Meva, Peri and scaffolding for the sale and hire markets. New panels, used panels, new props, used props, slab formwork, beams, accessories, industrial towers and ladders are all stocked.
In addition, the company offers a formwork refurbishment service which, in today’s economic climate, is an essential service. Gael Form has recently invested in an automated system which allows it to provide customers with a fast turnaround time at the cheapest rates. A professional formwork design service is also offered through its dedicated design engineer.
In summary, the services provided by Gael Form are: formwork refurbishment; formwork hire and sale; scaffolding for sale; design engineer service.
Formwork refurbishment involves cleaning, repairing and refurbishing formwork to the highest standards in a cost-effective and efficient manner. Gael Form will evaluate all formwork supplied and check for any flaws or damage that may need repair. Then, depending on the level of cleanliness and/or damage, a decision on how much cleaning, refurbishment, repair or painting is required will be taken.
Gael Form can arrange for delivery and collection of formwork and formwork accessories both nationally and internationally. It has an extensive range of scaffolding for sale, including Kwiksage, Cuplok and more. The company’s design engineering service provides a complete project-specific plan for the use of formwork and structural calculations for temporary work systems; implement planning and proof for stability analysis for shoring and working scaffolds; verifiable statics for the formwork and scaffolding planning while taking into account the relevant standards; determine optimal material requirements for your build.
Gael Form has completed many projects in its relatively short time in business. It supplied the formwork components for the bridges over the new Rathnew to Arklow M11 bypass in Co. Wicklow which was officially opened in July. The company is currently working on a number of residential housing projects in the UK, the biggest of which is in Hendon, London.
Last November, Gael Form was honoured with the2014 Meath International Business of the Year Award. Over 300 guests attended the awards ceremony in the Newgrange Hotel, Navan which was hosted by RTE personality Blathnaid Ni Chofaigh, while the keynote speaker was former Taoiseach and EU Ambassador to the United States, John Bruton.
Having bucked the trend by growing through the recession, Charlie McCarron sees no reason why his company can’t continue to expand in the coming years.
“We are very busy at the moment in the UK and are looking into the possibility of opening a new base in the Bedfordshire area. London is absolutely booming and that’s where most of our work is concentrated. We’re always on the lookout for new business and hopefully more of it will come our way in Ireland in the not too distant future,” he concludes.
Gael Form Ltd
Irish Office (Head Office)
Yellowshar,
Kilmoon,
Ashbourne,
Co. Meath.
Telephone: 00353 (0)1 835 5464
UK Office
4 Imperial Place,
Maxwell Road,
Borehamwood,
WD6 1JN.
Telephone:
0044 (0)20 371 30164
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.gaelform.com
Taken from Building Ireland magazine Vol 1 No 2, Winter 2015
