The construction industry is built on trust and reliability. Once a contractor is able to provide the latter, the former will grow amongst clients and thus a business relationship is developed.
It is generally considered that Irish people don’t like change and this is certainly the case in the business world as many companies stick with what they know best.
The Davis family from Kildalkey, Co Meath has built up a reputation for high quality work, reliability and excellence over the years. Since 1955, this family have been involved in a wide range of services within the building trade
One member of the family, Padraig decided to branch out on his own in 2009 and he established Davis Civil Engineering. Setting up your own business is always one that is taken with risks, but the fact that Padraig established the company during the recession made it all the harder.
However, through the experience of working with the family business since he was a teenager, Padraig knew that there was an area in the construction industry that he would carve out a career in.
And Davis Civil Engineering provides services such as Public works, carpark development, drainage, road construction, site development, civil engineering, bulk excavation, formworks, kerbing and paving.
“I decided to go out on my own as things were going quiet enough with the family business. I felt that there would still be work in the civil engineering and groundworks sector and fortunately we picked up some work and have been kept going ever since,” said Padraig.
“A lot of our work would be for the Meath and Louth County Councils as well as the HSE. We would do footpaths, road repairs and general maintenance, while car park are another area that we specialise in.
“We have also worked for a number of schools in the last few years and in general we have been quite busy. There has certainly been a pick up in work over the last 12 to 18 months.”
Padraig has a staff of 15 employees, while he uses a number of sub-contractors, all of who their customers would be very familiar with.
Working for local authorities generally means causing disruption for the public, but Padraig revealed that keeping the disturbance to a minimum is something that they have become quite adapt at.
“We have a traffic management team in place in order to keep any inconvenience as minute as possible. We have become quite adapt at getting the work done with the minimum of fuss and that keeps everyone happy.”
Padraig revealed that he has an experienced team and that the success of the company is mainly down to the work that they do.
“Our belief has always been to deliver a high quality service on time and as cost-effectively as possible. We employ a dedicated team of professionals to ensure that our clients needs are met and expectations exceeded.
“Our team are committed to the highest levels of quality, safety and environmental performance and pride ourselves on our standards and record.”
Padraig did admit though that the labour force was not what it once was as it is difficult to find experienced employees due to the recession when many were forced to leave the country and find work.
“There is a shortage of workers in the labour force. A lot would have went abroad when the recession came about and they have not returned, while the younger generation were obviously seeking out careers in different sectors as there was no future for them in the construction industry at the time.”
Davis Civil are members of the CIF, CIRI and Safe T-Cert. Health and Safety is a major issue for the company and they pride themselves on providing a safe environment not only for their employees, but for anyone that is involved on the project and the general public.
“Safety is a value that is fundamental to every operation at Davis Civil Engineering Ltd are fully committed to a process of demonstrable, continuous improvement in the pursuit of health and safety excellence. Robust systems and controls enable us to proactively manage our health and safety activity with the aim of achieving zero accidents.”
Of course, there is also a greater emphasis on the environmental aspect that a civil engineering firm have in society and Padraig added that this is something they are conscious of.
“We are committed to conducting our operations in an environmentally responsible manner. This enables us to achieve and demonstrate our environmental performance by minimising the negative impact of our operations, whilst maximising the potential for environmental improvement. We seek to work collaboratively with our customers, partners and supply chain to achieve environmentally sustainable solutions.”
Padraig concluded that he was happy with the direction of the business as the country in general continues to grow after the latest recession.
“We are pleased with the way business is going. We are busy at the moment and have a good bit of work ahead of us, which is great. We are always tendering for more work as you can’t rest on your laurels in this industry, but we feel that we are supplying an excellent standard of work to our customers and they are happy with that.”
Contact Details:
Davis Civil Contractors Ltd.,
Main St.,
Kildalkey,
Co. Meath
E-Mail: [email protected]
Tel: 0469435832
Tel: 0469435676
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, October 2017, Vol 3 No 9
