Set-up in 1985, Antrim Electrical & Mechanical Engineers Ltd is ranked as one of Ireland’s foremost Electrical and Mechanical Building services and Facility Management Contractors. Building Ireland heard more from company co-director John Johnston.
These are busy times for Antrim Electrical & Mechanical Engineers Ltd and it’s how John Johnston and Bill Mowbray would have envisioned things when they took over the business 14 years ago.
Also known as AEM Ltd, the company is one of the country’s leading Electrical and Mechanical Building services and Facility Management Contractors, specialising in projects in the commercial, residential, educational and health sectors, among others.
John Johnston had been immersed in the electrical engineering industry all of his working life prior to taking this venture with Mr Mowbray in 2003 and explained to Building Ireland exactly what it AEM Ltd does, while also filling us in on some of its current projects.
“We’re based at 208 City Business Park, Belfast and the company has been established since 1985,” John outlined.
“We have 55 staff working here and basically what we are is a building service contractor that has expanded its expertise into mechanical and electrical engineering. We utilise our expertise for customers in the private and public sectors and at the moment we have a turnover of £70million.”
With that in mind, it’s safe to say that AEM Ltd has come a long way from the days of its inception.
The company was originally founded by Mr Frank Boyd – one of Northern Ireland’s richest property developers – back in 1985 and 18 years later he made the decision to sell.
In hindsight, Mr Boyd’s decision to sell the business may have looked like a genius stroke with the economic downturn pending, but John explained that both he and his business partner were able to negotiate their way through a recession which had impacted the Irish construction industry deeply from 2008 onwards.
“In 2003, myself and Bill Mowbray bought it and decided to delve into the mechanical industry,” he stated.
“Prior to that my own background was in electrical engineering, as was Bill’s, and since we took over we’ve grown a company with a turnover of £5million to where it is today.
“We opened a new office in Glasgow in 2008 and recently opened another in London and we’re mainly covering the educational, health and transport sectors.”
Since the expansion into mechanical engineering, AEM Ltd’s expertise in both the mechanical and electrical sectors sees them guarantee the required personnel to succeed in any given project from conception to completion.
The company’s main objective has always been to strive to be the best within the competitive industry which it’s immersed in.
Due to AEM Ltd’s own growth, and through the demands of their clients, they have developed and broadened its geographical base in the North of Ireland to winning and maintaining projects throughout the UK.
AEM Ltd regularly competes for Building Services Projects across a wide range of sectors throughout Europe and by developing its expertise the company has also successfully entered into the field of Renewable & Sustainable Energy Systems.
By offering this service for its clients, it can set the company apart from its competitors, as sustainability is at the forefront of all private and public sector organisations.
AEM Ltd has built its foundation upon innovation, dedication and potential clients within the private and public sectors.
Past notable projects for the company include Mechanical and Electrical Building Services on the Stormont Parliament Building in Belfast to the value of £1.6million, with Northern Ireland Assembly the clients on the project.
Campbell College and University of Ulster Coleraine are part of the company’s education portfolio, while the IKEA New Store in Holywood one of the notable retail projects AEM Ltd has completed, along with a Bank of Ireland’s new city branch in Belfast.
Having opened branches in Glasgow, and more recently London, AEM Ltd have completed notable projects throughout Europe.
Staying more local however, the firm is occupied with plenty of work in and around Belfast at the moment, as its co-director explained.
“We’ve undertaken refurbishment of the Titanic vessel in Belfast and we’re also undertaking a number of high level office fit-outs in the city,” John stated.
“We’re also in the process of a £20million project for Queen’s University as well as a historical monument at Crumlin Road Gaol, a former prison located on the Crumlin Road in Belfast.”
So why are these clients choosing AEM Ltd first ahead of other competitors?
“Because we’re committed and strive to be the best within a competitive industry,” John stated plainly.
AEM Ltd takes pride in being one of Ireland’s leading buildings services engineering companies and strive to provide clients and partners alike with a service which goes beyond the anticipated norm of design and build of mechanical and electrical engineering projects.
From the initial concept, they undertake to provide the design, installation, commissioning and cyclic maintenance of all aspects of the building services incorporating the various electrical and mechanical installations.
Within this area it is the sole aim of AEM Ltd to provide each specific project with its own unique and tailored installation to each client requirement.
In undertaking this, satisfaction is afforded to the client through means of fully guaranteed and collateral warranties that is offered upon all design build projects.
It’s safe to say at this stage that AEM Ltd sets high standards and the standard set within its design and build projects means that they draw upon their extensive base of resources, whether it is in house Auto-Cad technicians utilising the latest in design technologies or the wealth of experience from one of their project managers.
The end result in every case is that Antrim Electrical & Mechanical Engineers delivers a cost effective design that shall save the client time and money.
What more could you ask for?
AEM Ltd
208 City Business Park,
Dunmurry,
Belfast, Co Antrim
BT17 9HY
Phone: +44 28 9062 8574
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: aem-ltd.com
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, November 2017, Vol 3 No 10
