Established in 2004, Cobec Engineering is an innovative and client-focused specialist which delivers high quality mechanical and electrical engineering services. Building Ireland touched base with its Business Development Director, Peter Mulligan to learn more about the company – from its origins to the projects it has on-going at the moment. Due to continued business growth, Cobec Engineering has recently opened its new head office in Blanchardstown Corporate Park, Dublin 15.
The new premises is designed to accommodate future of working requirements, offering a combination of open plan offices, canteen, meeting rooms, cellular offices and communication pods. It is the new home to its health & safety, estimating, commercial, finance, purchasing, marketing and HR departments, while the original office, which remains in operation, is located in the BASE Centre, Mulhuddart. This has been repurposed to accommodate thierengineering, project management, Quality andBIM departments. In addition, it is also the new home of the Cobec Engineering training academy.
Employing in excess of 140 direct staff, the company has developed a strong reputation amongst its Irish and international clients as a partner of choice which they can rely upon to deliver their projects on time, within budget and to the highest QEHS standards.
Building Ireland spoke with Business Development Director, Peter Mulligan to find out all about this thriving venture.
“We provide mechanical and electrical installation and maintenance services across a variety of industry verticals including; Commercial, Industrial, Life Sciences, Mission Critical, Healthcare, Residential, Leisure, Retail, Infrastructure and educational,” he outlined. A Dublin native, Peter joined the Cobec Engineering team two years ago. Prior to this, he has worked within the construction industry for close to two decades for a global electrical manufacturer providing innovative solutions to the mission critical, healthcare and building services environment.
The past two years have certainly seen its ups and downs, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the government enforced lockdowns which followed to combat the spread of the virus, having an effect on many projects.
“It has been a real challenge, not just in terms of site closures and project delays but also the impact it had on our colleagues,” Peter pointed out.
“During these difficult times we were acutely aware of the challenges our colleagues faced and were committed to providing supports and activities to promote their wellbeing. These included weekly pilates classes, charity activity events with Laura Lynn & The Mater Foundation, a number of cycling events and our Employee Assistance Programme.”
As for business itself at the moment, the future looks bright for Cobec Engineering as the projects seemingly keep coming.
Right now, the company is immersed in commercial work on three different projects in the capital – the Cadenza building, Earlsfort Terrace, Dublin; 4 Park Place and Central Park (Block N). It also has work on-going at Sandyford Central and on a development on Eblana Avenue in Dun Laoghaire.
With more projects on the way, those running the business are satisfied with the progress and, of course, will be eyeing up the opportunity for more growth along the way.
“The outlook is very positive, we have a reasonably healthy pipeline of projects with some fantastic clients that we are looking forward to delivering for over the next 12 to 24 months,” said the company’s Business Development Director.
“That said, we are an ambitious company in a growth phase and are always looking for new opportunities to support our growth plans. To support this we have developed and implemented our VISION strategy which has mapped out our objectives for the coming years in terms of where we want to go and how we are going to get there. It is an exciting time.”
So, the burning question is, what has been secret to success for Cobec Engineering over the past 18 years?
How has the company grown from humble beginnings to a thriving business with over 140 staff employed, delivering high quality mechanical and electrical engineering services off the back of a stellar reputation amongst its clients.
For Peter, he says that a lot of it is down to “the culture within the organisation”.
“We estimate that our level of repeat business is close to 90%,” he said. “This is achieved through the culture within the organisation from senior management right through to our crafts people to provide a high quality, reliable and professional service.
“Our relationships with our clients and supply chain partners are such, that they know our management team are just a phone call or an email away from meeting their needs.
“We know that we can rely on our colleagues throughout the business to represent the company in a positive way with a can-do attitude. Our people are our greatest asset, we encourage and support them to develop themselves both personally a professionally, with a number of our people have undertaken engineering, IT and business management courses. We don’t just look to offer jobs, we want offer rewarding careers to those who wish to grow and develop, we are happy to support them on their journey to becoming the leaders of tomorrow.”
In November, Cobec Engineering were delighted to be highly commended in the categories of ‘Large Contractor of the Year’ and ‘Medium Project of the Year’ at the 2021 Ireland Heating & Plumbing Awards.
The company was also highly commended in the category of ‘Large Contractor of the Year’ in Ireland’s Electrical Awards 2020, as well as being a shortlisted finalist at the 2021 Fit Out Awards.
Looking towards the coming months for the business, Peter hopes first and foremost that we are over the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic and, after that, he is keen on further expansion for Cobec Engineering in 2022.
“We are looking forward to continued business growth within the mission critical and life science verticals, new job creation, the expansion of our staff training programmes, the implementation of our updated BIM strategy and further developments in our LEAN and offsite fabrication activities.
“Ultimately, we want to continue to offer our current and future clients the highest level of service and quality on a larger scale,” he concluded.
Cobec Engineering
Unit 288, Block G
Blanchardstown Corporate Park 2
Blanchardstown
Dublin 15, D15 EW66
Tel: 01-8613060
E-mail: [email protected]
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, May 2022, Vol 8 No 5
