The clean, curved lines of the Thomond Park Stadium rising out of Limerick city’s skyline may be the most iconic building to emerge from one of Ireland’s foremost roofing and façade contractors.
But after nearly two decades in business BCL Contracts Ltd has kicked on from helping to turn the rugby ground into a world class stadium to creating eye-catching and vast structures (some individual projects stretching up to nine acres of roof space) across the country.
From aviation hangars to shopping centres to racecourses to award-winning university structures, the contractor has rolled out an impressive portfolio of innovative and futuristic buildings.
One of BCL’s latest projects in the tech sector is running across the area of nearly seven football fields.
Main Contractors of globally-recognised brands including PepsiCo and Range Rover have engaged BCL to deliver their building projects in Ireland since their humble beginnings in November 2004 when it was founded by Colum Breen.
BCL Contracts has grown to employ 60 people directly and a similar number on a subcontract basis. Colum is joined in the business by his wife Helen, who is a director and head of accounts.
The contractor’s Limerick headquarters are currently undergoing a major revamp, while the presence of a second office in Leixlip ensures easy access to Dublin where it has many projects ongoing.
Working in conjunction with Ireland’s leading main contractors, BCL Contracts has completed a wide range of bespoke projects across all the sectors, including residential, Life Science , education, energy, healthcare, tech, sports,leisure, hospitality and retail.
The company is renowned for delivering exceptional, high-quality, safe and aesthetically-pleasing solutions on time and within budget.
Prestigious projects in recent years UL Science Centre ; Range Rover R&D Centre Shannon; Cork Airport; Galway Racecourse Tote ; RQC Labs for Limerick based Life Sciences ; IDA Castletroy; Limerick IT; Douglas Shopping Centre Refurbishment ; Tusla Offices in Limerick; Award Winning UL Climbing Wall ; R&D Centre in Little Island; and many School projects nationwide .
The 21-metre-high UL Climbing Wall was a standout project which won the award for Building of the Year – Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality – at the 2021 Building and Architect of the Year Awards for Hugh Kelly Architects.
The cladding board used was from the Swisspearl Incora range – a unique panel featuring granulated marble chippings which are embedded during the manufacturing process. BCL Contracts worked closely with Swiss Façades to deliver the project to an exceptional standard.
Following on from their work in Thomond Park, the company supplied and installed aluminium seam façades and Alucobond rain- screen façade to Munster Rugby’s nearby training facilities.
BCL Contracts is equipped to design, supply and install a variety of envelope and roofing solutions on new and refurbished buildings. This is backed up by a competitive maintenance programme and warranty which gives the client added peace of mind.
Furthermore, managing director Colum Breen always makes himself available to the client at the initial stage of the project, consulting and offering expert advice on the design and specification of the envelope / roof element of the structure. This promotes competitive advantages, potential budget savings and enhances the main contractor’s prospects of securing the contract.
“We pride ourselves on getting the job done on time to the client’s satisfaction ,” says Colum, who boasts 35 years’ experience in the sector.
“We know all the products and finishes that will suit each individual building and project, so we can steer the client and designers in the right direction and save them both time and money.
Having initially specialised in roofing and cladding, BCL Contracts now focuses on roofing and façade.
“We offer intriguing façades and rainscreen systems which complement the roofing projects we do for the main contractors,” Colum explains.
“We’ve been working in the BIM industry for a number of years and use this process to detail and design façades. All drawings are carried out in-house in conjunction with the manufacturers.”
BCL Contracts installs only the best products on the market in its high-quality roofing and façade systems, including leading names such as Kingspan, Sika Sarnafil, Kalzip, Rodeca, Kemporal, Etex, Moy Materials, Equitone & Swiss Peral rain-screen cladding.
Systems installed include aluminium perforated cladding systems; twin-skin polycarbonate roof / wall systems; aluminium standing seam roof and wall facades; composite panel systems,aluminium trapezoidal profile roof systems; bitumen-based, PVC & TPO flat roofing; safety fall arrest systems; green roofing; aluminium trims and flashing, including Louvre ventilated systems; timber cladding facades; liquid roofing solutions; and lightning conductor applications.
Commenting on his company’s current projects, Colum says: “We’re working on a number of colleges, pharmaceutical and tech plants around the country. We’re also collaborating with our clients on some of their apartment blocks and community centre projects in the Dublin area.
“We’re bringing the MTU Kerry College expansion concrete frame in Tralee to a façade finish. We’re also supplying and installing the roofing and façade to the Irish Water Research Laboratory on the Ballysimon Road in Limerick, we’re working on a substantial pharma unit in Cork and we continue with our clients 4 year plan to remove and reinstate their 23 acres of roof over a live working tech plant .
“We’re always busy which is testament to our outstanding reputation in the industry. We remained operational during the Covid-19 lockdowns as an essential maintenance provider to the pharma sector.”
Regarding some of the behind-the-scenes considerations that roofing and façade contractors need to bear in mind, the affable Limerick man notes: “You have to be conscious of the acoustic requirements of a building at all times, for example there’s a big difference between a school and a warehouse. Building regulations are changing all the time. Insulation U-values alone have gone from an acceptable level of .30Wm/2k to .11 Wm2k, followed closely with huge changes in ‘air tightness’ and ‘acoustic’ levels.
“Fire regulations have also changed dramatically. But we abide by all prevailing regulations and requirements. We have an impeccable Health & Safety record which is no mean feat in such a high-risk industry.”
A proud sponsor and supporter of Limerick GAA, which is home of the four-in-a-row All-Ireland hurling champions, Colum & Helen would like to take this opportunity to thank their clients, suppliers and design teams for their continued support as well as his staff and subcontractors for their professionalism, hard work and expertise.
BCL Contracts,
Unit G2,
Eastway Business Park,
Ballysimon Road,
Co. Limerick,
E-C V94 Y6Y2.
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, December 2023, Vol 9 No 12
