Headquartered in the Glenelly Valley, Plumbridge, County Tyrone, Glenform Structures Ltd. is an industry-leading reinforced concrete specialist with a strong presence across Ireland and the UK. We had a chat with QS Donnie McBride to find out more about this exceptional operation which partners with a who’s who of main contractors and developers.
Boasting a rich history of helping deliver landmark, iconic buildings and projects such as the Athletes Village for the 2012 London Olympics, the Aviva Stadium on Dublin’s Lansdowne Road, Obel Tower in Belfast and South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen, Glenform Structures is renowned throughout Ireland and UK as the reinforced concrete specialist of choice.
The County Tyrone based company provides high-quality concrete placing, steel fixing / rebar, concrete finishing, concrete reinforcing, groundworks and formwork solutions to both the private and public sectors and has established enduring, long-lasting relationship with premium contractors and developers on both sides of the Irish Sea, culminating in a steady volume of repeat business earned on the back of projects successfully delivered to programme and within budget.
A couple of recently-completed projects include the provision of concrete frames at Enterprise House and Frascati Shopping Centre in Blackrock for Collen Construction. “We have a healthy relationship with a number of Main Contractors, with current contracts and repeat business generated from Collen and P J Hegartys” reveals QS Donnie McBride, who has given 20 years’ service to the company fronted by Declan Bradley, which generates consistent employment for130 men, with numbers rising in excess of 200 men, at any given time, as demand dictates, delivering contracts valued at up to €6-7m.
“We did employ operatives in excess of 350 men during the height of the boom but are currently happy at the size we are at now” Donnie notes.
Specialising in reinforced concrete frames, traditional build and/or post tensioned construction, basements and high-rise buildings from Derry City to Cork City, Dublin, and Edinburgh to Brighton, Glenform Structures Ltd. enjoy a number of key advantages over their competitors – not least due to their wealth of experience accumulated and excellent track record for delivering critical projects safely and on time…
“We own all our own plant and also use our own men, which enables us to provide a complete service in-house,” Donnie continues. “When you use direct labour and bring your own equipment to site, it eliminates the room for error and enables you to provide a prompt, efficient and professional RC service.”
Glenform are always looking at ways to offer their customers added value. To this end, the personable QS points out: “We’ve started to offer alternative design, often leading to significant savings on site, both from a time and cost perspective, without compromising on quality, which is a major selling point. In construction, it’s all about meeting programmes and deadlines within budget … if you can save the client money then that’s even better.”
Needless to say, a huge emphasis is placed on Health & Safety with no stone left unturned to ensure total safety on site. “Quality management and Health & Safety are second to none,” Donnie reassured me. “A lot of this comes down to experience as well as training and we’re lucky to have a very experienced and knowledgeable team.
“We have our own in-house team of project managers, engineers and site staff and all of our contracts managers have 20 years’ experience of the RC framing industry and know what they’re doing. From top to bottom, our entire team bring a lot of expertise to each project. The core of the staff are all local, too, and we have a good mutual working relationship with them.
“Declan, who is the owner, leads by example. He has almost 30 years’ experience in reinforced concrete and maintains a strong presence on site to make sure the high standards we’re known for are being maintained.”
At the time of writing, Glenform were working predominantly in Dublin. “Ringsend Water Treatment Works for P J Hegarty and main client Irish Water is coming to an end right now and we’re in negotiations for a couple of other projects,” says Donnie. “We do all types of commercial buildings, including a lot of hotels and office blocks. We’ve just been awarded a hotel in Galway for JJ Rhattigan and we’ve finished two office blocks at Dublin Airport for Stewarts – Central Blocks A1 and A6, which was a €3.5m project.
“Apartment blocks are also becoming more and more common. We’re starting a block of apartments in Cabinteely for Randalswood, where the developer is McGrath Group Properties.
“For apartment blocks, we bring our experience of alternative design to the table, design that our clients are unfamiliar with, so that savings can be made.”
An inordinate amount of dedication, knowhow and planning is invested into making sure that every project deadline, programme and budget is met. In keeping with the ethos of Glenform Structures Ltd., this will continue to be the case going forward:
“We’re hoping to start spreading our wings in the UK again and to take on more and more projects both in the Republic of Ireland and the UK,” Donnie concludes. “We’re also looking into doing a data centre in Sweden, having already completed one for Collen and Microsoft in Grangecastle. We’ll keep giving our utmost on every project and will work with clients to achieve the best end product and value for money on their behalf.”
Glenform Structures Ltd.,
21 Main Street,
Plumbridge,
Omagh,
County Tyrone,
BT79 8EQ.
Tel: 028 814 40110
Mobile: 0044 7733 913990
Web: www.glenformstructures.com
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, October, Vol 5 No 10
