Nenagh-based Shane O’Gorman Electrical Ltd. has established a stellar reputation as a domestic, commercial and industrial electrical contractor of choice, renowned for invariably delivering professional and reliable solutions safely and on time. Building Ireland interrupted Shane’s busy schedule to find out more.
For 16 years and counting, Tipperary man Shane O’Gorman has been running his own business providing unrivalled electrical contracting services across all sectors. Experts in both installations and maintenance contracts, Shane O’Gorman Electrical comes highly-recommended in the trade and – due to the high standard of workmanship consistently provided – benefits from a steady volume of both repeat custom and new business through positive referrals.
Shane is as busy as he’s ever been so we appreciate him taking some time out to briefly discuss his career in electrical contracting to date… “I’m 30 years in the trade this year and have been working for myself since 2006,” he reveals. “Before that, I worked for a large company in Limerick, where I was in a management position and received a good background in managing big projects, which put me in good stead.”
Reputation is everything in contracting and Shane – whose business is fully certified, insured and compliant – has always gone out of his way to grow and preserve his reputation for excellence. “From the beginning, I was mindful of the fact that your word is everything,” he continues. “As part of this, punctuality is extremely important. I am always on time, be it for work or for a meeting. On some of the occasions where I’ve turned up on time for meetings, people have actually remarked ‘that’s a first’, because tradesmen unfortunately have a reputation for being late. However, I firmly believe that you have to be there when you say you are going to be there.”
While he is very much a hands-on director, Shane is also quick to pay tribute to the vital role his employees have played in the success of the business. “Having good staff is vital,” he states. “When you have good staff, you have to treat them right and they will respond accordingly. It works both ways.”
At the time of writing, Shane O’Gorman Electrical generates direct employment for a team of ten. Three of Shane’s senior electricians started out with him as apprentices, while he currently has one third-year apprentice on his books as well as two second-year and two first-year apprentices.
Shane takes his responsibilities towards his apprentices very seriously: “You don’t know what’s coming around the corner,” observes the forward-thinking Tipperary electrical contractor. “I’m not too nervous about the future because I’ve come through a recession before from ’07 but it is important to me to bring these apprentices through.
“When I promise to give a guy a career, I will guarantee him when I take him on that I will get him qualified. I really want to remain in a position where I can continue to make good on that promise and make that happen. You would be a little anxious about whether you are going to have enough work to retain that amount of staff, to give them a career and qualify them as electricians. Once you take them on, that’s the very least you can do.
“Besides the soaring price of materials, that’s my biggest concern – making sure I can give all my guys their full apprenticeship.”
Another thing that has worked in Shane’s favour big time is that he has been able to secure a substantial amount of work in and around his home town. “I’m a Nenagh man and I have a lot of clients locally, Nenagh has been very good to me,” he confirms. “Maintenance contracts are very important and we get a lot of regular work locally between pubs and restaurants, sports clubs, schools, filling stations and property management companies, etc. While most of our work is in Tipperary and Limerick, we have done maintenance contract work in Dublin. Indeed, one of our clients is Quigleys Bakery, who are a Nenagh-based family business with outlets all over Munster and Leinster and we’d do quite a bit of upgrade and maintenance calls for them nationwide.”
Some recently-completed or current projects include a full electrical installation at Sheahan’s Homevalue Hardware in Nenagh, a full electrical installation on the new build Murphy’s Pharmacy in Nenagh, a full electrical rewire in Garrykennedy House and an electrical upgrade at Garrykennedy House in Portroe as well as an office / workshop installation in Shannonside Business Park, Birdhill for Lyncare, who modify gym equipment for disabled users.
Meanwhile, staying close to home, Shane O’Gorman Electrical also installed the LED floodlights on the two magnificent new tennis courts at Nenagh Lawn Tennis Club. “We also pick up regular work with various building contractors on one-off builds, etc., and do a lot of school projects, including emergency lighting and fire alarm upgrades during the summer months,” says Shane.
“We are specialists in shop fit outs with LED lighting upgrades. For this, we can go in and survey the premises and current lighting system. We can provide a quote for an LED upgrade and let the client know what their energy output saving is going to be.”
Going forward, the aim of Shane O’Gorman Electrical is to continue to maintain the exacting high standards for which this industry-leading company is renowned. “You have to keep your standards high,” Shane concludes. “Safe Electric and RECI have been instrumental in raising standards across the industry and people have to continue to adhere to those standards. It’s great to see those bodies insisting on high standards and I’m all for a regulated electrical industry.
“There’s a level playing field now and some of the stuff you would have seen 20 years ago, you just won’t see that now. The big concern for construction in general is that the price of materials is sky-rocketing. You’d like to think that it has to stop somewhere because it is unsustainable. I’ve noticed that some projects today are only going to roof level and then being put on hold while people wait for prices to come back down before they finish them. Hopefully for everybody’s sake we will find ourselves in a position where that can happen sooner rather than later.”
Shane O’Gorman Electrical Ltd.,
47 Radharc Darach,
Nenagh,
County Tipperary.
Tel: 086 839 5828
Email: [email protected]
Web: shaneogormaneltd.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/shaneogormanelectrical
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, October 2022, Vol 8 No 10
