As an innovative steel engineering specialist with a strong presence on the global stage, Radley Engineering continuously sets the standards for other to follow. This applies to every aspect of their activities, including the training and induction of apprentices. We touched base with Operations Manager Greg Conaty to get an update on their long-established, world-leading apprenticeship programme, which is run in conjunction with Waterford Wexford Educational Training Board.
Established in Dungarvan, County Waterford in 1972 by brothers John and Thomas Radley, Radley Engineering Ltd. is one of Europe’s leading specialists in the design, manufacture, fabrication and site installation of high quality stainless steel, carbon steel and exotic materials.
The company’s success to date is the result of their unswerving dedication to quality workmanship, a commitment to investing in new technologies, their flexibility in design, strong aftersales services, commissioning and backup policy not to mention the fact that they operate one of Ireland’s most impressive apprenticeship programmes.
With up to 500 employees in Ireland, Radley Engineering currently have 49 apprentices registered and Operations Manager Greg Conaty is the man who oversees the progression through the ranks of these young people, taking them under his wing and giving them an invaluable education in engineering, bestowing upon them a skillset that will serve them in good stead for the remainder of their lives. Many of these apprentices go on to build a lifelong career working for Radley – one of Europe’s foremost engineering companies.
Greg admits that the apprenticeship programme in Radley Engineering is born out of necessity: “Training our own apprentices has always been a big part of the ethos here and it’s one of the only ways we can find suitable labour,” he comments. “It’s the ideal way for us to create our own supply of suitably qualified staff with specialist skills. We have 49 apprentices registered at the moment and we will be taking on more once this year’s Leaving Cert results are released.
“We have between 400 and 500 staff here and around 25-30% of those would have come through the company as apprentices. Indeed, we are still actively seeking more people, even in the prevailing economic situation. We are extremely busy and there is demand for both skilled engineers and apprentices.”
From their state-of-the-art facility in Dungarvan, Radley Engineering provide exceptional steel fabrication and welding solutions to a range of industries, including manufacturing, mechanical, oil and gas, petrochemical, biopharma, power generation, food processing, utilities and consumables – both here in Ireland and internationally. Over the years, they have been involved in a number of high profile and iconic projects, including The Spire of Dublin, The Heron Tower in the heart of London and the Waterford City Suir Cable Stay Bridge. These bespoke projects provide a clear indication of the skill and flexibility of their workforce as well as their design capabilities.
Radley’s success is built upon their dedication to consistently deliver high quality work (from mechanical piping and vessel fabrication to modular construction, architectural metalwork and specialist fabrications) and to offer value to customers by playing a key role in transforming ideas and inventions into innovations, which leads to the fostering of long-term, trusting relationships with clients – many of whom have been with Radley for over 40 years.
Although Radley Engineering have invested robustly in their systems to cater for a wider range of specialist needs, the real key to the world-class services provided is in people – from the highly-skilled management team of project managers and engineers to specialist craftsmen and, of course, apprentices. When Greg joined the team in 1982, there were 17 apprentices on the books – now they welcome at least ten new apprentices per year into their internationally-renowned four-year programme…
“Due to Covid-19, some of the courses are inevitably going to run into a fifth year,” the Down native continues. “They have been doing remote schooling, etc., and the programme was closed for a period during the first lockdown, but we will get the exams finalised once all the training has been completed to the high standards required. If it takes a little longer, then so be it – we can’t cut any corners in our objective of providing these apprentices with the best possible engineering skills.”
From a personal perspective, Greg confirms that the experience of nurturing talent and helping grow young people into fully-qualified, highly-skilled engineers is a rewarding one: “It’s great. Having served as an apprentice myself within the aircraft industry, I appreciate the journey that apprentices are embarking on and I try to make that journey as worthwhile and memorable as I can.
“To watch these young people grow and progress as people is of course very rewarding. They would generally come in here at 17 / 18 years old and you see them grow and mature over the next four-five years and then many of them stay on with the company. I enjoy the part I play in that.
“Some of them will go on and do Degrees in Mechanical Engineering, etc., and they will then bring that knowledge back into the engineering side. What our programme offers to apprentices is unique and specific – a lot of universities don’t offer anything like the work experience or practical knowledge that we provide. Compared to university graduates, our apprentices, when they qualify, would have a better, more rounded appreciation of and knowledge of the job at hand.”
Radley Engineering have a proven track record of completing a broad range of complex mechanical site installations to the highest standards of quality, safety and reliability. Their dedicated mechanical construction site division caters for largescale mechanical projects, new plant and equipment installations across all industry sectors.
The company has an international reputation for excellence in design, on-time delivery and high quality manufacturing of both atmospheric and pressure vessels utilising a variety of steel grades including all grades of stainless steel, carbon steel. Hastelloy™*, AL-6XN™*, Duplex 2205 and titanium.
As a leading supplier to its markets for over 40 years, Radley Engineering has developed experience and in-depth knowledge of modular construction / skid assemblies. They offer a complete modular construction service, including the design, fabrication and assembly of skids and have completed major projects for national and multinational companies. All work is carried out by in-house qualified engineers who are always on standby to meet new challenges working to complex project specifications.
Furthermore, Radley Engineering also offer a wide array of metal fabrication services and equipment to service clients across the industry sectors, with bespoke fabrication products including walkways and work platforms, stairs, tables / benches, gloveboxes, cabinets and control boxes.
The net result of Radley’s prolific apprenticeship programme is that every year their excellent industry-leading team is enhanced by the addition of vital fresh blood in the form of skilled and trained pipe fitters, metal fabricators, mechanical fitters and plumbers. In addition to on-site fitters and installers, management and engineers are joined by up to 120 fabricators, welders and fitters at the Dungarvan factory, where all the vessels and pipes are manufactured. Radley is the industry leader in computerised vessel design and modelling using both 2D and 3D applications.
Working regularly island-wide and beyond for longstanding clients such as Ely Lily, Pfizer, Merck, Janssen and Cameron, Radley Engineering is in a strong position as the County Waterford headquartered company approaches the 50th anniversary of its inception. “The pharmaceutical companies are expanding all the time and this appears to be a real growth area,” Greg concludes.
“Even though they have closed their Longford plant, approximately half of our work at the moment is for Cameron. We now deal directly with them in Romania, France, Italy and the United States, working on high-pressure riser assemblies on site in our factory, which are then exported to their locations around the world.”
Radley Engineering Ltd.,
Killadangan,
Dungarvan,
County Waterford.
Tel: 058 41199
Fax: 058 42169
Web: www.radleyeng.com
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, September, Vol 7 No 9
