With bases in Dublin and Newry, Co. Down, CMD is a main contractor providing a full range of Construction, Fit-out, Civil Engineering and Facilities Management services across a variety of sectors. Building Ireland spoke with co-founder, Niall Finnegan to learn more about the business and CMD’s current projects.
Business is good at CMD (Construction Management Development) and company co-founders, John O’Hanlon and Niall Finnegan plan to try and keep things that way.
First established five years ago, the company now operates between its bases in Lower Hatch Street, Co. Dublin and Monaghan Court in Newry, Co. Down.
Since the company’s inception, CMD has offered clients a range of specialist services within the commercial, residential, hospitality & leisure, healthcare, pharmaceutical and industrial sectors.
Building Ireland touched base with Niall Finnegan to hear more about the ins and outs of CMD and how business is going:
“The past year has been difficult for everyone, and we felt the effects within our own business too,” outlined the co-director.
“The pandemic uprooted lots of plans, however we’re getting back on track now, thankfully!
“We did have essential projects that we worked on throughout the lockdowns, including upgrading new houses in Oldcastle, Co. Meath, along with projects in the North. We were very grateful to still be busy.”
2018 would be a breakthrough year for CMD as the company opened its second office in Newry and also secured a number of high-profile contracts, including the NHS in Scotland.
Right now, business is on the up after a year like no other for companies across Ireland.
The Covid-19 pandemic, and the government lockdowns which followed in order to try and combat the spread of the virus, saw construction sites nationwide shutdown all but overnight in March 2020.
There would be more lockdowns to come after the lifting of the first on May 18th of last year and CMD feels that storm has now been weathered, as the company looks to keep up with the current client demand.
“We’re currently managing a fit-out project for Irish Manufacturing Research in Mullingar and, overall, our business is doing well,” Niall outlined.
“We’re also overseeing projects for a doctor’s surgery in Dundalk, and a few residential projects, including three in Dublin.
“We’re very excited to be embarking on a new, bespoke project in the North too.
“We’ve just started a 4,500 square foot home in Tyrone for a private client. It’s top-of-the-range and tailored to the client’s specific needs.”
With an impressive fleet on the road at present, CMD’s services are nationwide for clients such as MMAS Architects, from whom CMD receives lots of repeat business.
Indeed, repeat business has been the key component in the growth of the business over the past half decade and will be crucial for the future too.
CMD operates across all client sectors and within specifically tailored contract formats, including main contracting, management contracting and design & build.
The company has a network of professionals, specialist sub-contractors and tradesmen that offer a dynamic approach to planning, design and construction stages.
All of that considered, the question still begs what has been the secret to success for Niall and John’s ambitious business venture in the space of just five short years?
“I think part of it is how proactive and hard-working our team is,” Niall pointed out.
“We aren’t name-conscious when it comes to our client work and we’re honest in our approach.
“We always price a project properly for clients and carry out our work efficiently and professionally, and I think our clients appreciate that.”
Safety is also of paramount importance to the team at CMD and the company itself has always been committed to achieving the highest standards of safety, consistently bringing environmental, social and economic benefits to clients and the wider community.
CMD also works closely with clients to support their own environmental targets during construction on a project.
Looking towards the coming months, Niall Finnegan says the company will be hoping for more of the same with regards to their current work rate.
“We hope to continue as we are, delivering outstanding work for new and existing clients,” the co-director concluded.
CMD Head Office:
12 Lower Hatch Street,
Dublin
D02 R682
Newry Office:
4A Monaghan Court,
Newry,
Co Down
BT35 6BH
Tel: +353 1 639 2949
Fax: +353 1 639 1101
Email: [email protected]
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, October, Vol 7 No 10
