Hanna Mechanical Services was voted Commercial Contractor of the Year at the 2016 NI Plumbing & Heating Awards. We travelled to Carryduff in County Down and caught up with founder / proprietor Gary Hanna to find out more about this exceptional, award-winning commercial, industrial and largescale residential plumbing and heating specialist.
Established in 2003, Hanna Mechanical Services has developed an outstanding reputation in all aspects of mechanical services installations, having been involved in a large number of diverse projects across Northern Ireland and beyond.
Never was the high esteem in which this company is held more evident than when they were selected as Commercial Contractor of the Year at the prestigious 2016 Northern Ireland Plumbing & Heating Awards, having impressed the judges with their superb, innovative solutions and workmanship when installing and modifying the mechanical services at Danske Bank’s branch at Donegal Square West in Belfast city centre.
For this pioneering project, Hanna Mechanical Services pre-fabricated a containerised boiler house which was shipped to the site in the early hours of the morning, lifted onto the rooftop and connected to existing pipework in the building. A new gas line was installed – running up the side of the building – to supply the new boiler house and the redundant boilers were removed from site once the new installation was fired up. Delivering a project of such complexity with a minimum of fuss epitomises Hanna Mechanical Services’ ability to successfully complete projects in a practical, contemporary, prompt and cost-effective manner.
The business has grown organically during the 14 years since Gary Hanna set it up a company structure, providing high-quality mechanical services installations all over the U.K including recent projects in The Shetland Islands and London. Employment is structured directly for a team of vastly experienced management and on tools personnel. Gary has a strong belief in training apprentices and staff to his own high standards.
He admits it was humbling to be recognised at the NI Plumbing & Heating Awards but concedes that picking up such accolades is not particularly high on his list of priorities: “Providing quality workmanship and keeping my staff in work are the main things driving this business”.
What are the keys to achieving this? “Answering to customers” needs. I do a lot of one-on-ones with clients and I always make sure they are happy with the work – both before and after completion and that it’s on time and efficient. Each job is different and you have to be flexible.” A good example of the varied nature of work carried out is the recent installation of a still at Shortcross Gin’s Rademon Estate Distillery in Crossgar.
ISO 9001 certified since 2006, Hanna Mechanical Services pride themselves on the work they have carried out and gained a solid reputation within the industry for their ability to work within increasingly tight contract programmes while maintaining a high level of workmanship.
Working closely with private clients, contractors, architects and mechanical consultants, Hanna Mechanical Services offers a vast range of services such as heating from domestic to steam works, plumbing, HVAC, renewable energies, compressed air and sprinkler systems.
Such is the demand for Hanna Mechanical Services quality workmanship that typically, Gary could be overseeing up to six or seven projects at any one given time. Alongside Danske Bank throughout Belfast and Antrim, other recent projects include GPS printing factory Belfast, Ballymoney High School, Sumburgh Airport on the Shetland Islands, an apartment block development in Camden Town, London and ongoing factory extensions/upgrades plus maintenance works at Mash Direct in Comber, Newtownards.
Maintenance contracts account for up to 40% of business, including regular work for Almac Pharmaceuticals in Portadown. Hanna Mechanical have also carried out a variety of refurbishment and maintenance work at Belfast City Hospital, including a demanding project to supply and install four plate heat exchangers to replace the old inefficient steam calorifiers, where the programming and coordination proved critical as the LPHW heating system had to remain fully operational throughout the duration of the project, requiring intensive onsite coordination.
Over the years, Hanna Mechanical Services have also provided mechanical works to Royal Victoria Hospital Belfast, Merchant Hotel, Gateway Hotel, Cliftonville Football Club, Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Carryduff, O’Reilly Stewart Solicitors, Castlecourt Shopping Centre, Ivex Pharmaceuticals, Glenview Hotel, Henry Moore Building and Ulster Farm By-products Ltd. amongst many others.
Looking to the future, Gary Hanna is confident that further growth can be achieved. “I’m confident that there’s a market there for “green” buildings and as the market grows, we are in a good position to organically grow as a business”, he concludes. “The running costs and carbon footprint have become a large design and installation consideration within the building services trade. Our clients are looking for us to come up with solutions that are value-engineering to gain the best install while keeping a high integrity including factoring in the most efficient system to keep on time and within budget. We will sit down with clients and give them advice in any areas they require help.
“Hanna Mechanical are currently undertaking works throughout the U.K and developing business opportunities with builders within Ireland and the UK.”
Since its inception in 2003, Hanna Mechanical Services has established itself as an outstanding, award-winning commercial and industrial heating and plumbing service provider; the signs are encouraging that this exceptional mechanical services contractor can continue to go from strength to strength.
Hanna Mechanical Services,
Emerson House,
14B Ballynahinch Road,
Carryduff,
Belfast,
BT8 8DN.
Tel: 028 90817841
Fax: 028 90817842
Email: [email protected]
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, February 2017, Vol 3 No 2
