As one of Ireland’s longest-established, family-run roofing and cladding contractors, Conwell Roofing Contracts are synonymous with invariably delivering professional, high-quality solutions. Building Ireland touched base with co-director Stephen Conwell to get an update on this Strabane, County Tyrone headquartered industry-leading operation, which boasts an exceptional track record for excellence spanning back to 1968.
For more than half a century, Conwell Roofing Contracts have been providing unrivalled private, commercial and industrial roofing and cladding projects to an ever-growing list of satisfied customers across the island of Ireland. From complete architectural building envelopes to domestic roof repairs, no job is too big, too small or too complex for the vastly-experienced, fully-trained Conwell team, who combine quality materials with precise workmanship to achieve outstanding results every time.
One of the many strengths of Conwell Roofing Contracts (CRC) is that they use a small, close-knit team of roofing professionals who possess a wealth of experience in terms of completing projects to the highest standards, always on time and within budget.
“We’ve a specialised team of eight and we’re very happy at that size,” notes co-director Stephen Conwell. “We’re busy at the moment and we have enough work to keep everybody happy. We’re not looking to grow the business or to take on too many jobs. We’re happy to keep it niche and to continue to look after our existing customers.”
CRC enjoy strong lasting relationships with a number of main contractors, including Boyle Construction in Letterkenny and Woodvale Construction in Omagh. For the former, they recently provided full roofing and cladding services on the new build St Mary’s National School in Stranorlar in Donegal, while they have just finished work at Limavady High School in Derry as part of Limavady Shred Education Campus. Meanwhile, Waterside Shared Village sports complex is another recent Woodvale project of note.
Other recent work includes Knockbracken Healthcare Park in Belfast for Bavan Contracts, and the stunning refurbishment of the Spar shop in Castlederg for Lowry Construction. This upgraded building now holds the distinction of being the largest Spar outlet in the UK. Elsewhere, on behalf of McCallion Group, the new multi-million-euro Buncrana Primary Care Centre is another striking building to benefit from the Conwell Roofing Contracts touch.
Conwell Roofing Contracts’ stellar reputation for excellence precedes them and a high quality, lasting, value-added finish is guaranteed on every project undertaken. Very much a hands-on co-director, who is on site and on tools every day, Stephen runs the family business alongside his brother, Eddie Conwell Jnr., while their brother-in-law Enda Hueston is the third foreman on the company books.
As a family business first and foremost, Conwell Roofing Contracts provide a personal touch and make themselves available to talk to clients around the clock. “We pride ourselves on being a family business and the lads are all vastly experienced,” Stephen confirms. “They’ve all been working here for at least ten years and are either close family – brother, brother-in-law, cousins – or former schoolmates.
“My father Eddie Snr. is the man who started it all off and we wouldn’t be here without all the hard work he did over the years to build the business up. He started roofing in 1958 and started the company in 1968 – he was the one who did most to secure our excellent reputation for quality workmanship and we are following his lead and building on that.”
Such is the level of bespoke solutions they provide across the education, healthcare, retail, commercial, industrial and residential sectors, it’s no surprise to learn that Conwell Roofing Contracts’ services remain in big demand. Even during the volatility of the last two years, as lockdowns impacted upon many companies operating within the construction industry, they remained largely unaffected.
“We lost eight to ten weeks at the very start of Covid but were fortunate after that to have school and healthcare projects, which were deemed as essential work, and that kept us going,” Stephen reflects. “Things seem to be back to normal again now and long may it continue.”
A central location – equidistant between Sligo and Belfast, about 90 minutes from either – means Conwell Roofing Contracts are ideally situated to cover the entire North West region, including counties Sligo, Donegal, Derry, Tyrone, Fermanagh, Antrim, Cavan and Monaghan, while Stephen and his team will sometimes venture further afield if one of their regular customers is working on a project elsewhere and requires their services.
Highly recommended on a consistent basis by a number of local architects to carry out a variety of domestic new build and extension / renovation projects, Conwell Roofing Contracts can take on everything from a roof repair or upgrade to installing the most modern roofing and cladding systems on high-performance, energy-efficient buildings.
“There are some really interesting designs and concepts out there at present and it’s always enjoyable working with customers and architects on those,” Stephen concludes. “In addition to reliable workmanship, every roofing system also requires the best materials. To this end, Kingspan and Sika-Trocal are the suppliers we recommend and we can come up with some great options using their products. They are also very good companies to work with, which is important, too.”
As a roofing and cladding contractor of choice, Conwell Roofing Contracts have established themselves as proven industry leaders in their chosen area of expertise. Constant improvement and customer service have been important features of this progressive family business since its inception 54 years ago and, with a clear emphasis on consistently achieving the highest possible standards on every project undertaken, one gets the distinct impression that there are many more chapters remaining to be written in this particular success story!
Conwell Roofing Contracts,
32 Peacock Road,
Strabane,
County Tyrone.
Tel: 028 816 58372
Fax: 028 816 59771
Email: [email protected]
Web: conwellroofing.com
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, September 2022, Vol 8 No 9
