Jabes Interiors’ uncanny consistency in invariably delivering industry-leading commercial fit out, refurbishment and new build solutions has been recognised in the form of a landmark fifth successive All-Star award from the All-Ireland Business Foundation. Building Ireland touched base with Managing Director Michael Keogh to gauge his reaction.
Delivering high quality building refurbishment, fit out and new build services to a diverse range of clients across the island of Ireland, Jabes Interiors were presented with their fifth consecutive Business All-Star accreditation at a special ceremony in Croke Park on Wednesday, May 10th.
This prestigious accreditation recognises the innovative and client-focused Sandyford-headquartered firm’s outstanding contribution to quality and standards in the sector over the last five years as well as their exemplary performance in the areas of trust, performance, and customer centricity.
Alluding to the extraordinary recent success of the county’s senior GAA footballers, I put it to MD Michael Keogh that he certainly isn’t the first Dub to collect a fifth successive All-Star award at Croker…. “On a serious note, it’s a fair achievement and an award like this is born out of a lot of hard work and commitment to our clients. We foster strong working relationships and operate with total transparency”.
Although Jabes Interiors is a relatively new company, having been established as recently as 2018, their entire team boasts decades of experience working at the cutting edge of construction in Ireland and abroad. Michael, for example – a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building – worked extensively for two of the country’s largest and most respected main contractors and has been in the industry for coming up on 40 years.
“Quality is produced when you understand exactly what your customer is looking for and strive to deliver it to the highest standards,” Michael continues. “We are customer orientated and we pride ourselves on being easy to deal with, professional and transparent. If a problem arises on a project, we to bring the solution and our clients value that approach. Whether it’s our problem or not it becomes the project’s problem and it is in our interest to be proactive and to find a solution so that the project can be delivered to the complete satisfaction of the building’s end user.
“We are team players, and we make it our business to get along with everybody involved in a project. Communication and transparency are crucially important. Any of our clients or subcontractors can speak directly to me at any time. I will pick up the phone or call them back immediately and we don’t shy away from that in any way. In today’s fast-moving market, you must do this.
I attend all the design team meetings and am involved to varying degrees in every project from start to finish. For some projects, I’ll be more heavily involved than on others, but I do take an active, hands-on approach to them all, with the support of a strong and professional team of construction professionals within the company.
“That approach extends to our subcontractors, who are professional, vastly experienced and know how to deliver their specific tasks. We use specialised craftspeople, and when they are assigned specific packages, they execute them to the highest possible standards.”
The team currently comprises 14 direct employees and a supply chain of up to 50+ tried-and-trusted subcontractors. “We tend to keep going back to contractors who have delivered for us in the past and bring in specialists, such as conservationists, designers, as needed,” Michael notes.
From complete interior commercial fit outs to building upgrades, extensions, office relocations and refurbishments to turnkey Design & Build new builds, Jabes Interiors have the proven expertise to manage any project through from contract award to practical completion and beyond, with in-house capabilities to complete the most complex of projects and direct access to an extensive supply chain, specialist designers and contractors.
A positive culture towards safety exists within the company and is promoted daily from directors to site staff. Jabes are committed to keeping the environmental impact of their works to an absolute minimum and as such actively seek out sustainable solutions / materials as well as the reduction of site waste, continually striving to maintain global standards and ultimately minimise their carbon footprint.
The Jabes Interiors approach to delivery is both meticulous and all-encompassing. “We get involved early in the process and offer advice and direction where we can,” says Michael. “We are always open to other people’s opinions and ideas in helping find the right solution to any project or task”.
With the difficulties presented by the pandemic now in the past, Jabes Interiors are extremely busy and in big demand at present. “As a new company, Covid was hard on us, but we had a very successful year last year and are enjoying an excellent 2023, with plenty of work in front of us. Our order book is very healthy for the remainder of this year and projected into the first half of 2024. That said there is always room to explore further opportunities. While we are fortunate to receive a lot of repeat business – including clients I dealt with when I was with previous companies, who have come to Jabes – we are always looking to expand our client base.”
A full service is offered from design to delivery. “In conjunction with commercial refurbs and fit outs, we have the capacity to extend to offer a full Design & Build service with a turnkey approach, wherever necessary,” the personable MD confirms. “If required, we can provide a full one-stop shop service including project costing, assigned certifier, PSDP & PSCS, etc. Some of our clients prefer that all in approach.”
A snapshot of our ongoing and recently-completed projects includes a refurbishment of a 5 star boutique hotel in Dublin, 9,000 sq ft Design & Build fitout for the Mediterranean Shipping Company’s head office in Cherrywood; a stunning fitout of Phase I of 40,000 sq ft fitout at ‘The Bureau’ (a new entrant to the serviced office market); the compartmentalisation of a building on Henry Street to facilitate the delivery the first residential space on the iconic city centre street in over 100 years; a second project for Toyota Ireland at their head office in Bluebell to deliver training rooms, lecture space and catering facilities; and a 7000 sq ft turnkey fit out for a leading Solicitors practise in Dublin to name but a few.
Consistently striving for perfection in terms of completed projects and customer service, Dublin’s premier All-Star construction company continues to set the standards when it comes to commercial refurbishments, fit outs and Design & Build projects. Jabes Interiors has been a resounding success story to date and the signs are encouraging that a bright future lies ahead for this best-in-class firm.
“We will grow to reach mid-sized contractor level and will operate at that level. We remain focused on delivering quality projects on time and within budget,” Michael concludes. “Hopefully, we can also keep gaining new clients on the strength of our previously completed projects. If we can do that, then the company will remain in good stead.”
Jabes Interiors,
Suite 201,
Q House,
76 Furze Road,
Sandyford,
Dublin 18.
Tel: 087 277 2303
Email: [email protected]
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, August 2023, Vol 9 No 8
