Since its inception in 2001, Magtruss Ltd. has quickly established itself as one of Ireland’s premier manufacturer and supplier of superior roof trusses and (Easi-Joist) engineered wood metal web floor joists. We dropped into their busy, state-of-the-art timber manufacturing facility ideally located just off the M1 motorway at Junction 10, Drogheda North, in Tullyallen, County Louth and caught up with founder / MD Paddy Magill to find out more.
Between its market-leading prefabricated roof trusses and metal web Easi-Joists, Magtruss Ltd. offers a complete engineered timber solution, including design and structural calculations, working drawings and complete layout plans giving precise illustrations of each component and their location on each project, large or small, with a friendly and highly-trained design team on hand to take customers competently and safely from design stage through to delivery on site.
Magtruss Ltd. is a wholly Irish manufacturer of bespoke engineered timber products for all sectors of the construction industry, from a developer building hundreds of houses to a small builder working on an extension. Their portfolio includes houses, schools, nursing homes, hospitals, office buildings, local authority housing, apartment blocks, clubhouses, commercial buildings, Garda stations, wind farms, shopping centres and leisure centres, while they also supply major timber frame manufacturers for both one-offs and developments.
The company mission is to provide a level of product and service that are unrivalled in the industry, with an emphasis on quality design and excellent materials, always with a strong focus on value for money to give customers complete peace of mind on every project.
Vastly experienced in both timber engineering and the general timber industry, Magtruss Ltd. has emerged as one of Ireland’s leading truss and Easi-Joist manufacturer / supplier. All production is fully-certified by the NSAI and CE-marked to IS.EN 14250:2010, complying fully with the latest Building and European Construction Product regulations.
Magtruss is an active members of the Irish Roof Truss Fabricators Association and a founding member of the Trussed Rafter Association in Ireland, which is associated with the long-established and highly-respected TRA in the UK, providing technical support and guidance to its members and the construction industry since 1995.
Only kiln-dried Scandinavian and Russian, machine-graded and CE-marked C24 & TR26 grade timber is used in Magtruss’ engineered products. This timber is sourced from PEFC or FSC certified suppliers which means that only wood products derived from sustainable forests are supplied, ensuring that their products have the highest environmental credentials possible.
Introduced to the market here in 1968, trussed rafters (or roof trusses) are specified for over 90% of roofs for housing in Ireland today. Only specialised timber engineering companies can manufacture CE-mark trussed rafters, which must be independently-monitored by a recognised notified body such as the NSAI.
Meanwhile, metal web (or open web) joists are a relatively new product to the Irish and UK markets, which utilise the combined strength properties of timber and steel to produce an extremely strong and very lightweight engineered solution for floor joists. Magtruss Ltd. were at the forefront of bringing this technology to market and were the first manufacturer in Ireland to produce Easi-Joists. They are also one of the biggest producers of them on the island today.
Since their introduction, Easi-Joists have significantly increased in popularity in Ireland as they have numerous practical benefits over traditional solid timber joists. Not only does Easi-Joist outperform solid sawn timber in span and dimensional stability, the added benefits of a greater bearing area and the open web system make them easier for the carpenter to install. And follow-on trades like plumbers and electricians have their work and time on site reduced considerably due to the ease with which their pipes and wiring can be installed in the voids in the joists, reducing valuable time and cost and eliminating the need for notching or drilling.
The team at Magtruss Ltd. are experienced specialists in roof and floor component design / manufacture and are therefore ideally placed to assist in achieving affordable, precisely-engineered solutions throughout all sectors of the building industry.
Managing director Paddy Magill – who is joined in the progressive family business by sons Keith, Mark and Darren and general manager Alan Finnegan – set the company up on July 1st, 2001, having previously worked for the likes of James McMahon, PDM, Mallinsons and Kelly Timber in Finglas, Over the years, he built up very specific knowledge of the timber importing, manufacturing and supply business. “I imported natural hardwoods like mahogany, oak, teak and ash from all over the world as well as Scandinavian and Russian whitewoods for use in engineered timber products. We supplied joinery shops, architects and engineers around Ireland,” he reflects.
“On the advice of many friends and customers in the construction industry, I set up Magtruss and started manufacturing prefabricated roof trusses and metal web joists. We had built up a lot of good contacts in the industry.
Paddy quickly surrounded himself with an excellent team of experienced people and he has never looked back. Sixteen years later, Magtruss is one of the market leaders. “It’s gone very well,” he confirms. “Like everyone else in construction, we struggled badly during the 2007-2012 period. However, I insisted that our quality of product and our service to our customers did not diminish during this period and we got through it as we had some fantastic, loyal support from both our customers and our suppliers. Fortunately, we have a lot of very loyal customers and they kept us in business.”
Paddy benefits from a wealth of repeat business and his regular customer list reads like a who’s who of house building contractors – Cairn Homes, Shannon Homes, Fajon Construction, Rathowen Construction, Cavan Developments, Capami Ltd., Kingscroft, Developments, Merville Homes, Kilbegnet Construction, Pivotal Construction, Winterbook Ltd., etc.
Both standard and bespoke roof trusses and floor joists can be supplied: “We supply whatever the contractor requires,” says the company founder. “The architect sends the plans to us and our design department designs whatever is required. It’s then passed with their engineer and we proceed to manufacture it and deliver it to site.”
Some recent OPW jobs supplied with engineered timber products by Magtruss include Dundrum Garda Station by GEM Construction, Belcoo Wind Farm for PS Civil Engineering, a HSE High Support Unit in Mullingar for Glenman and Cootehill National School for McCauley Construction.
At its highly impressive, customised three-acre manufacturing facility in Tullyallen, Magtruss generates direct employment for a team of 26. Operating their own fleet of trucks and trailers, they deliver island-wide, covering the 32 counties.
“We only use Scandinavian and Russian whitewoods, because of their superior quality,” Paddy confirms. “The two grades we use – TR26 and C24 – are two of the highest grades of timber for engineered wood.”
Steady growth is being experienced on an ongoing basis and the MD attributes this to the excellence of his highly-trained and vastly-experienced staff as well as the quality of products and services offered: “We have the most knowledgeable, specialised designers in Ireland and our factory staff are trained to the highest possible standard. Alan Finnegan is general manager and Aidan McMahon is our chief roof truss designer; those guys are invaluable to me”
Going forward, it’s going to be a case of onwards and upwards for this wonderful success story. “I want to keep Magtruss at the forefront of the engineered timber industry in Ireland,” says Paddy. “You really have to enjoy what you do and we go the extra mile to make sure all our clients are as well advised as possible. It helps having such technically-knowledgeable staff and without them Magtruss would not be where it is today.
“When we send a product out to site we always include a complete lay-out plan for the client, to make things as straight-forward and easy as possible for the personnel on site.”
Over the past two years, upwards on €500,000 has been invested in upgrading the machinery in the factory to the highest-possible standard. “It’s all geared towards sustaining the standards that we aspire to and are renowned for. To be honest, business is not always about making money – job satisfaction and pride in our company and its products, are bigger motivators to me,” Paddy concludes.
“We always meet our customers and deal directly with them face to face. I doubt there’s a town in Ireland without a building that we’ve supplied with trusses or metal web joists and all of these people will call us again to do business with us because of their previous experience of dealing with Magtruss Ltd. Once we get an order, we take all the pressure off our customer by measuring the building, designing, manufacturing and delivering to site. We keep our standards high so that our clients can do the same.”
Magtruss Ltd.,
Townley Hall,
Tullyallen,
Drogheda,
County Louth.
Tel: 041 9873862
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.magtruss.com
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, August 2017, Vol 3 No 7
