Established in 2005 by Conor Cole, Cole Groundwork Contracts is a multi-award winning civil engineering company working all over Ireland and the UK, providing services to some of the biggest construction companies in the world.
From humble beginnings, Cole Groundwork Contracts has grown to employ over 80 people and has earned an enviable reputation within the industry for delivering quality projects on time and within budget. With offices in Rostrevor, Co. Down (head office), Fitzwilliam Square in Dublin and Brandesbury Square in London, the company is constantly evolving and diversifying to meet the needs of its clients who include Bouygues UK, Graham Construction, Green Bio Fuels Ltd, Farrans Construction, Royal Centurion to name but a few.
Its services include: civil engineering; groundworks; concrete works; drainage; attenuation tanks; bulk, dig and site; project management; paving; kerbing; fencing; marine works; shuttering works; sheet piling; telecommunications, ducting, and have now become a Specialist Fuel Facility Contractor. Cole is involved in residential developments, commercial developments, schools and universities, electrical generation sites, telecommunications, signal masts, water projects and green energy. These are highly specialist jobs that very few contractors have the capacity or experience to do.
“While we’re predominantly involved in groundworks and civils, we’ve branched into niche markets such as green fuel terminals, telecommunications, EV charging points and green energy in recent times. We’re continually investing in new plant and machinery, and have plans to expand into France in the near future,” Conor explains.
“Our work is split 60/40 between Ireland and the UK at the moment, but that can change depending on where the work is. In Ireland, we’re currently working on a ‘Green Fuel terminal’ in Ringaskiddy, Co, Cork, a green fuel depot in Mullingar and are also working on a multi-storey commercial and residential development in Malahide. We’re always busy.”
No stranger to winning awards, Cole Groundwork Contracts is delighted to be shortlisted for Sub-Contractor of the Year at the 2022 Irish Construction Industry Awards. Among the contractor’s previous accolades are: Newy Chamber Employee and Team Awards 2022; Machinery Movers – Contractor of the Year 2021; Ulster Tatler Business Man of the Year 2018; Plant, Civil Engineering, Construction Awards (PCCAs) – Civil Engineering Company of the Year 2018; Top 40 Under 40 2018 – People’s Choice Winner; All Star Civil Engineering Company of the Year; Plant, Civil Engineering, Construction Awards (PCCAs) – High Achiever of the Year 2017.
In recent years, Cole Groundwork Contracts has taken key strategic decisions to run the business on the Traction Model (Gino Wickham). This has resulted in the establishment of a strong senior leadership team comprising Managing Director and Founder Conor Cole, Senior Engineer & Head of Operations Jonathan Connolly and Senior Contracts Manager PJ Fagan. The senior team also includes Head of Health & Safety Paul Cole, Head of Accounts Management Emma Cole and Head of Marketing Suzanna Vallely.
An old head on young shoulders, Conor Cole manages the strategy of the business and travels frequently to oversee projects and have a presence onsite. Jonathan Connolly has over 15 years’ experience in the engineering sector managing projects from £100,000 to £28 million, including project coordination of many housing schemes. His career highlights include managing all aspects of a specialist project to an upgraded wastewater treatment facility for Irish Water, and managing all aspects of the groundworks and civil requirements, including pile cropping, bulk excavation, drainage, specialist concrete footpaths, grouting to structural base units and installation of a culvert to a new CO2 facility in Northern Ireland.
PJ Fagan is a capable project manager who has extensive experience in managing projects over numerous geographical areas. Winner of Best Construction & Property Employee of the Year at the recent Newry Chamber Awards, PJ has particular passion and experience within the housing sectors. Among the major projects he has worked on are Brighton University, i9 Wolverhampton, University of Essex, Sainsburys SuperStore and a school in Wimbledon.
The last 12 months have been a challenging period for most businesses working through the Covid-19 pandemic and the immediate aftermath, with many challenges with supply chain alone. Cole Groundwork Contracts is proud to have navigated through these challenges and has been involved in a number of outstanding projects. These include Charlton Park Academy in London, i9 Wolverhampton and Student accommodation for the University of Brighton.
The Charlton Park Academy scope of works included demolition and newbuild of a two-storey block consisting of ground floor teaching facilities and first floor boarding and residential unit for SEN children. The block was built to care standards to provide critical care for severely disabled children. The project main build was completed on time which involved working to challenging sequence and deadlines from foundations to completion of externals. The contractor also overcame the challenge of working within a live school and restrictive site.
On the i9 Wolverhampton project, the main obstacle was access which meant that arranging deliveries, getting material and plant onsite and waste off site all had to be planned in advance to ensure the works progressed as planned. The granite paving had a four-month lead time from placement of order to arrival to site. Procurement had to be completed in a timely manner. At the completion stage, the Co. Down contractor decided to run separate teams on separate shifts to keep the works going into the late evenings when the site wasn’t as busy with other trades. The existing paving was reused on two elevations of the site to blend in with the existing surroundings as much as possible.
Delivered through the pandemic, on time and within budget, the project was a worthy recipient of a Regional Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors Award.
Access and booking in delivery slots were also key challenges with the Brighton University project. Artic lorries could not access the site. They had to be outside the site very early in the morning before commuting traffic started building up to get offloaded. The majority of the paving on this project was special order, with booking confirmed four months in advance of requirement onsite. 5,000m2 of paving was laid, while specialist landscaping furniture was also specified nine months in advance of requirement onsite.
Another challenge that had to be overcome was the cement shortage during Cole’s time onsite. Suppliers were rationing the sale of cement to their customers in an effort to be fair to everyone. Cole Groundwork Contracts overcame this obstacle by firstly notifying its client on the issue, reaching out to its expanded supply chain to keep as much supply incoming as possible and when required, worked out of sequence onsite when paving couldn’t be laid to keep progress onsite ongoing.
For Cole Groundwork Contracts, operational excellence doesn’t happen by chance. It comes from taking clear steps to boost operational performance. Effective procurement has been essential with so many disruptions to the supply chain and the effects of Covid-19. Being a people-focused business has allowed Cole to become the company of choice within the sector.
Conor and his team aim to lead the way with regards to innovation and have a clear target to create a sustainable and healthy business, with particular focus on CO2 emissions. To do this, the company has been innovative by employing technology, active management and reducing waste. It has replaced fossil diesel with Green D+. The very first Irish Contractor to take this leap back in late 2018, and early 2019. To this end, Cole has forged a strong partnership with Green Biofuels which will see it use nearly 2 million litres of Green D+ over the next five years.
“We are delighted to be the first Irish company to be using this advanced HVO fuel in all our sites across the UK, and have now introduced it in Ireland. This is what we believe is a true revolution for air quality in our area and expertise, and an innovation that will help the entire construction industry,” Conor says.
The contractor’s core values are team work, a drive to succeed and improve, doing things right, always delivering, honesty and work safely. Health & Safety is embedded in its culture, so much so that the Head of Health & Safety Paul Cole sits on the leadership team. Cole Groundwork Contracts is equipped to take on jobs that other companies deem to be different and sees itself as a solutions provider first and foremost.
As his company continues to go from strength to strength, Conor would like to take this opportunity to thank his clients, suppliers and construction partners for their continued support as well as his staff for their hard work, dedication and skill.
Cole Groundwork Contracts
135 Kilbroney Road,
Rostrevor,
Newry,
BT34 3BW.
Telephone: 028 4173 8883
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.colegwc.co.uk
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, February 2023, Vol 9 No 2
