Since its inception 16 year ago, Ronnoc Construction Ltd. has established itself as one of Munster’s premier tarmacadam and asphalt contractors. We visited their depot in Blarney, County Cork and touched base with managing director Paul O’Connor to find out more about this top-quality family-run business which provides unrivalled service levels.
Specialising in the sourcing, supply and installation of road surfacing materials across Munster and beyond, Blarney, County Cork based Ronnoc Construction boasts an outstanding reputation for providing optimal solutions on each and every project delivered.
The company’s reputation for excellence precedes them and roadways, carparks, schoolyards, commercial premises, laneways and private properties across Cork, Kerry, Limerick and further afield testify to the extremely high quality of the materials and workmanship provided.
The genesis of Ronnoc Ltd. dates back to 2001 when brothers Paul and Shane O’Connor set the business up. The founders are today joined in the day-to-day running of the family business by Paul’s son, Christopher.
By focusing on delivering the highest quality at all times, Ronnoc has come a long way in a relatively short period of time, today regarded as Cork’s premium providers of exceptional road construction and road resurfacing services, incorporating stone mastic asphalt applications.
Ideal for use on national routes, urban streets, driveways and car parks, Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA) is a dense wearing course material which was developed in Germany in the 1960s and offers key benefits such as consistent appearance, durability, decreased road noise levels and reduction in water spray. Featuring a high coarse aggregate content that interlocks to form a stone skeleton that resists permanent deformation, SMA provides a deformation-resistant, durable surfacing material.
With a state-of-the-art, brand-new mastic machine recently added to the vast fleet of specialist equipment, the top-class mastic service provided by Ronnoc Construction Ltd. keeps them at the cutting edge of their chosen area of expertise.
“When we started out in 2001, we were working for John A Wood / Roadstone,” reflects Paul, who had served in Woods himself for 22 years prior to that. “We worked for John A Woods for the first twelve months and then went with Lagan, who we have been with ever since, as well as doing a bit of work for Arkil. But the vast majority of our work has been for Lagan Asphalt.”
A vast amount of money has been invested in a magnificent fleet of superbly maintained tar lorries, tar pavers, tack sprayers, rollers, vans and the new mastic machine, all of which are operated by experienced, highly-professional personnel, with a strong emphasis on Health & Safety as well as quality workmanship.
“All of the equipment is our own and that’s a major advantage. We are able to afford it because of the steady work we get from Lagan,” notes Paul. With Lagan Asphalt as their main client, Ronnoc Construction are clearly operating at the very highest standards in the road construction / surfacing sector.
Work has been completed throughout Munster and up as far as Galway, including numerous roads projects for Cork City County, Cork County Council and Kerry County Council, for whom a 10km resurfacing project had just been delivered in conjunction with Lagan on the N72 Killarney – Killorglin Road at the time of writing.
As well as providing outstanding services, Ronnoc Construction Ltd. also contributes indirectly to the local economy by generating full-time employment for a crew of 14 people. The fact that it remains a close-knit family-run business ensures that a personal touch is provided, as well as total transparency – Paul, Shane and Christopher are always just a phone call away!
“It’s a family business and I have mostly family working here,” Paul confirms. “As well as Shane and Christopher – who will be taking over from me in a couple of years’ time – I also have three nephews involved as well as another brother.”
Quality is at the heart of everything Ronnoc stands for. Their surfaces are applied to the highest possible standards and this is why the business has managed to go from strength to strength through the worst recession in living memory – a downturn that hit the construction industry harder than any other…
“It’s down to service and the quality of our work,” Paul continues. “There’s no room for complacency or poor workmanship in this business. If you do one bad job, that’s you finished. It’s as simple as that. You have to keep your standards up and this is something that we have committed to 100% since the beginning. We have never been idle in 16 years, not even during the recession.”
Another major project delivered by Ronnoc Construction was surfacing works on the two major flyovers on the south-western approach to Cork City, at the Bandon Road and Sarsfield Road roundabouts, for SIAC Construction in conjunction with Cork County Council.
The Blarney-headquartered tarmacadam and asphalt contractor has worked on a vast amount of car parks, roads and footpaths, schools, lanes, housing estates, industrial and commercial units, shopping centres, sports facilities, airfields, house fronts and private driveways, completing projects both large and small all to the same exacting standards.
“Quality is paramount,” Paul concludes. “We make sure everything is 100% and that’s why we have been with Lagan for so long. They are very particular and will only work with the best. But we are also very particular and strive to not only meet but to exceed our client’s expectations.”
Ronnoc Construction Ltd.,
3 Seanacloc,
Tower,
Blarney,
County Cork.
Email: [email protected]
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, November 2017, Vol 3 No 10
