Based in Tuam, Co Galway, Furey Construction specialises in building houses using Insulated Concrete Formwork (ICF). Building Ireland touched base with owner and founder Brendan Furey to learn all about the ins and outs of the company, as well as the state of business at the moment.
This year sees Furey Construction mark 20 years in business and the hope for founder Brendan Furey is to continue moving the company forward as they enter into a third decade.
Operating from Ballyglunin, Tuam in Co Galway, the company is situated on the Galway/Roscommon road and has carried out projects on both sides of the county border over the past two decades.
In more recent years, Insulated Concrete Formwork (ICF) has very much become Furey Construction’s forte and the company itself has built up an excellent reputation through its work.
Building Ireland caught up with Brendan Furey to find out more about what is a thriving and successful construction business out west.
“We’re established since 2001 and right now we have a small workforce, with a number of skilled sub-contractors,” he said.
“My brother Noel is also involved in the business and basically we take on a full contract service, building houses, ICF houses and roofing as well. Roofing would be my own background.”
A carpenter by trade, Brendan had a carpentry business “running side by side” along with a roofing company before deciding to set-up a construction venture in 2001.
Since then, Furey Construction has grown from strength to strength, earning an excellent reputation for its work along the way.
In early 2019, the company decided to start using ICF building products and haven’t looked back since.
“We would have started with ICF two years ago and now I’d say that 99 per cent of the projects that we’re doing here are ICF houses,” Brendan outlined.
Through the use of these ICF building products, companies like Furey Construction are able to help transform a project into a stronger, more energy efficient structure that is constructed to outlast timber framing systems or block-built systems.
It sees Brendan and his team constructing high-performance buildings that are superior in quality and for a cost that is very competitive with all other building types throughout the country today.
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought about challenges for businesses all over Ireland and the government lockdowns have had an effect on the construction industry.
Like the spring of 2020, the first three months of 2021 have seen construction companies limited to working on projects deemed ‘essential’ only.
The hope is that there are better times ahead for the industry this coming summer, as government restrictions look set to ease.
“Business is well back compared to what it was like before the lockdown hit but there’s still loads of work there,” said Brendan.
“There’s always work on extensions and new builds there and I would use the same subbies for all the projects that we do here.
“From May last year, when the first lockdown was lifted, we were flat out with work and hopefully it’ll be the same again this summer.”
On-going works for Furey Construction in Galway include two extension projects in Athenry, a house in Milltown and a new ICF build in Moycullen.
Most of the company’s work is within half-an-hour’s drive of Ballyglunin and, as Brendan explained, many of the projects they acquire are “through word of mouth”.
So, what has been the secret to success over these past 20 years?
How has a small construction start up managed to maintain continued growth of their client base for two decades and, not to mention, also change its approach in construction with ICF products?
“I think our clients choose us because we are reliable and genuine,” said Brendan.
“We have a good team behind us that are responsible and the client knows that they can contact us for any solution to any problem they might have.”
Having come through the recessionary times that arrived in 2008 and hit the construction industry hard, Furey Construction is faced with another challenge in the Covid-19 pandemic and the government lockdowns which have ensued.
Currently weathering the storm, Brendan and his team are relishing the date when all construction projects will be back in full flow.
As a modest-sized construction company, Furey Construction is happy with its status as it sees them staying local and Brendan has no plans to let the business grow beyond the point where it could potentially lose its personal touch with clients.
“In all honesty, it got to the point a few years ago where we were nearly too busy with the work that we had.
“We just want to try and keep going forward. It’s moving along nicely and things are nice and steady, so if we can keep it like that, we’d be happy.
“There seems to be loads of work on private houses at the minute, so we’ll stick to that,” he concluded.
Furey Construction
Ballyglunin,
Tuam,
Co Galway
Mobile: 087 286 1491
E-mail: [email protected]
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, July, Vol 7 No 7
