Shanowen Plant Hire Ltd. (Demolition) is firmly established as one of Dublin’s premier demolition contractors. As this industry-leading family business approaches its 40th anniversary, Building Ireland interrupted director Paddy Patton’s busy schedule to find out more about its exceptional services, fantastic fleet and vastly-experienced team.
Experience is the bedrock of Shanowen Plant Hire Ltd. (Demolition), which boasts an unrivalled track record for delivering prompt, professional and efficient demolition services on a vast range of construction sites across the capital and into the greater Leinster region.
Since the company’s inception in November, 1984, Shanowen Plant Hire has successfully completed a wide array of demolition projects, from houses to high-rise buildings, and hospitals to warehouses. They have built up a magnificent fleet of fresh and immaculately-maintained machinery, which can be tailored to every demolition project, with each machine manned by a highly-skilled and vastly-experienced operative.
Shanowen Plant Hire Ltd. (Demolition) also offer value-added bulk excavation, site clearance and crushing & screening services and through excellence and dependability have earned an outstanding track record for achieving absolute customer satisfaction on every project undertaken.
Husband and wife Joe and Julie Patton established Shanowen Plant Hire Ltd. (Demolition) to provide developers, contractors, local authorities and the residential building sector with specialist plant hire, demolition, site clearance, groundworks and heavy haulage solutions. The business has grown and evolved over the decades and is today recognised as a leading residential and commercial building demolition contractor, regularly working for a who’s who of Tier One main contractors and developers including Walls, BAM Ireland, John Paul Construction, Cairn Homes and many, many others.
The founders’ son Paddy is in no doubt that the invaluable experience the company has amassed over the last 39 years is their greatest asset: “Experience is everything in this line of work. That’s the most important thing. We’ve been doing this a long time and we know what we are doing. We’ll be in business 40 years next year so we must be doing something right!
“Once you have the experience, the men and the machinery, you can provide a professional service on time, every time,” the company director continues. “As a family-run business, we pride ourselves on providing a personal touch and staff is everything. We have a team of 25 in total and they play a big role in the continued success of the business. Without them, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
Shanowen Plant Hire’s demolition excellence was very much to the fore during the darkest days of the pandemic when they were called upon to carry out essential work at The Mater Hospital, while the Echelon Data Centre in Clondalkin is another high-profile commercial project completed. Paddy and his team have also carried out demolition work on many exclusive private residences in the Dublin area.
“There seem to be a lot of new contractors coming in and we’re working for a good few English contractors who are coming over to do one-off projects and data centres, etc. There’s a very good mix of work there at the moment.
“We have high-reach machines to carry out demolition on high-rise buildings and also a fleet of mobile crushers and screeners to reduce and recycle rubble,” says Paddy. “Our extensive fleet of machinery includes excavators from one tonne up to 50 tonnes, with all the demolition attachments.”
Shanowen Plant Hire also own and operate a range of dumpers, teleporters, tippers, grab trucks, artics and low loaders, enabling them to take on any demolition / bulk excavation job large or small. “At the moment we are working mostly in Dublin, Kildare, Meath and the greater Leinster area with a view to going nationwide. We’re spreading our wings and will go wherever the work is.”
Personnel-wise, Shanowen Plant Hire Ltd. (Demolition) are also broadening their horizons by taking on more specialist staff to drive further efficiencies in the business. “We have Transport Managers and Plant Managers in the team now and are taking on more specialists in these roles,” Paddy confirms. “We also have our own team of four mechanics, who work in our in-house workshop making sure all the machinery and trucks are kept in great condition. The heavy haulage side of the business is also very busy, operating nationwide, and we provide our own escort vehicles for the safe transportation of wide and abnormal loads.”
To ensure that Shanowen Plant Hire are always at the top of their game, regular investment in both maintaining and replenishing the company fleet is a prerequisite. “You have to keep everything up to date and training is another vital area where we spend a lot of money,” says Paddy. “It’s really important to keep upskilling your staff.
“While we update a certain amount of machinery stock, I also find that a lot of the older stuff is better than the machines that are being made today. Really, the older machinery is bulletproof and if you do a complete overhaul on them from start to finish, then they will keep performing and giving you value for money. It’s all about getting the balance right so that you can provide your customers with the best possible service.”
Looking to the future, as Shanowen Plant Hire Ltd. (Demolition) heads for its landmark 40th anniversary, Paddy predicts that consolidation will be the strategy for the foreseeable: “What we see ahead of us is very encouraging but I think we will nevertheless err on the side of caution,” he concludes. “We’re not going to overstretch ourselves. We’ll keep things under control and continue looking after our customers.
“We have an excellent customer base with whom we enjoy excellent relationships. A lot of them are long-term customers going back to the days when my mother and father were getting the business off the ground and those relationships with loyal customers are very important to us.”
Shanowen Plant Hire Ltd. (Demolition),
Bishopswood House,
The Ward,
Dublin 11.
Tel: 01 8642228
Mobile: 087 4150755
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.sph.ie
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, January 2024, Vol 10 No 1
