Being able to provide a wide range of service in your area of expertise is one sure way of ensuring that you will always be busy. This is especially true for electrical contractors where many tend to spread their wings to cover several areas within the industry.
One such Dublin based electrical company not only provides a wide range of services, but the quality of their workmanship has enhanced their reputation in recent years. Alfa Electrical Ltd are based in Avonbeg Industrial Estate on the Longmile Road in Dublin 12. The company has many years’ experience behind it and in 2006 there was a management buyout as Brian Moran, Paul Mangan and Ronan Howard became directors of the business. All three had worked their way up through the ranks of the company with Brian starting as an apprentice in 1996, so being engrained in the philosophy of Alfa Electrical came easy to them.
“When we took over, we had two other lads with us. There were no massive changes made at all, we just carried on what we had been doing “.
“When the management buyout process had concluded we immediately set about implementing our own philosophy on how the company should be ran. It is our belief that as company owners we should be heavily involved with our clients right from the beginning to the end of the job and long after whether they be private/corporate, main building contractors, developers or consultant engineers, one of us is always on hand to make that crucial decision or call immediately” Brian told Building Ireland.
Of course, little did the guys realise that just two short years later, the country would be gripped by its worst recession ever and the construction industry was the hardest hit as many businesses involved in this sector were forced to close. However, Brian revealed that a focus on commercial work during this period helped them through and indeed grow as the experience of a recession will stand to them over the coming years. “We managed to keep going and it was all commercial work that we were doing. The fact that we didn’t get too big and kept our overheads down stood to us, there is no doubt about that. Our focus during this period was to survive keep all our loyal staff with us and working, so as to be on the right side of things when the recession ended.
These days Alfa Electrical Ltd carry out work in the commercial and residential sectors and as mentioned they provide a wide range of services to an impressive customer base. “Providing such an array of services allows us to tender for many projects. Over the years our customer base has grown considerably as we have worked with some of the country’s top building firms as well as state businesses.”
The client list includes, The Cosgrave Group, The Dublin Loft Company, Gem Construction, Montane Developments, Jackie Greene Construction, Murphy International, Wallace Construction, O’Malley Construction Company, The Mangan Pub Group, St Jude’s GAA Club (Alfa are the sponsors for the clubs juvenile academy), Dublin City Council, Halton Construction, Manley Construction, Key Waste and Key Hygiene, Weslin Construction, Arup, McElligott consulting engineers and MandE consulting engineers to name but a few.
“Current projects include the Leona & Charlotte Apartment Buildings by Cosgrave Developments in the Honeypark Development in South Dublin, which is the country’s largest buy to let apartment scheme”.
“We also have work ongoing in Ardilea Crescent in Clonskeagh, South Dublin with O’Malley Construction. This has recently been shortlisted as a finalist in the Irish Construction excellence awards. We are in the Curragh Racecourse with Murphy International. We have just completed works on The Tenement Museum on Henrietta Street in Dublin for Gem Construction. We are also on numerous sites around Dublin and Leinster for Montane Developments and many. So we are quite busy now, but we are always on the look out to grow our client list”.
“We are always looking to grow and expand. The construction industry has certainly taken a turn for the better over the past couple of years and hopefully it will be more sustainable this time around.”
Alfa Electrical Ltd place a great emphasis on training within the company and they are mindful of the need for their employees to be trained up in new areas that add further growth potential both individually and in respect of the company. That is why to keep the dynamic within the company, apprentices are hired on a regular basis. Brian admitted there is a lot more interest in the industry than had been in recent years.
“In the last two years, there has been a big change in the interest in electrical work. We find now that we are seeing a lot of younger guys showing an interest in becoming an electrician which is great for the industry. There is still an issue with attracting skilled workers. A lot of them either emigrated when the recession hit or chose different career paths, but you can notice that a few guys are coming back and hopefully that will continue.” Brian was keen to pay tribute to all their employees, but especially the guys that help them run the business daily.
“Our Electrical Engineer is Fergal Hurley and he has been with the company since 2009. Initially, Fergal joined us on a part time basis in 2009 but very quickly we recognised the additional skills Fergal brought to our company and part time soon turned into a full-time presence. Fergal is an extremely competent engineer and Contract Manager who is highly regarded by us and within our industry”. Sean O’Donnell joined us in 2015 as General Business Manager which is a crucial role in the business. The experience and wealth of knowledge that Sean brings to our company is invaluable and adds a different dimension to the running of our day to day business. In 2016, we added to the strength of our Tendering and Project Management team by employing James Brien as a Junior Estimator. James is a qualified electrician with a background in commercial and industrial contracting. James quickly exceeded expectations in this role and within 12 months has risen to the role of Senior Estimator. We are currently looking to add to tendering team. We were always conscious of growth not only on site but within our office setup. In 2017, we brought in Ian Ryan to head up our Purchasing and Store team. Ian joined us with over 15 years’ experience in the stock control and purchasing industry.
“All of our employees have played their part in the success of the business and working together as a team has seen us complete some prestigious projects over the years.”
Their reputation for getting the job completed on time, within budget and to clients’ total satisfaction has made them one of Ireland’s top electrical contractors of choice over the past few years. Alfa recently launched their new revamped website to compliment the planned future growth.
They have vast experience in working closely with Engineering Consultants, Architects, and Main Contractors and they believe that the success of every project lays in the communication channels, which exist between the design, construction and client teams.
Contact Details:
Alfa Electrical Ltd
Unit 4E
Avonbeg Industrial Estate
Longmile Road
Dublin 12
Telephone: 01-4600732
Fax: 01-4600732
Email: [email protected]
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, April/May 2018, Vol 4 No 4
