DND Electrical Engineering Ltd provides high end electrical installation and maintenance solutions to its clients nationwide. Building Ireland learned all about the business from its Managing Director, Damian Duff recently.
Established in September 2017, DND Electrical Engineering Ltd has enjoyed a rapid rise since its inception and the year ahead looks like being the company’s busiest yet.
The firm was set-up by Damian Duff with the aim of being “a one-stop shop across the board” when it comes to electrical engineering, according to the Co Dublin native.
Today DND Electrical Engineering Ltd employs 18 full-time staff from its base at Millennium Business Park in Ballycoolin, with Brian Dolan its Operations Director and Stephen Ritchie in the Contracts Manager role.
Building Ireland caught up with Damian recently to hear all about the business – from its origins to its current projects.
“We’re up and running two years now with high end office fit-out along with our maintenance division being at the forefront of the business,” said the Managing Director.
“From the very beginning we set specific plans and objectives for each year. We’re fully focused on hitting those targets, which we’re currently exceeding. We’re more than happy with how things are progressing”
DND Electrical Engineering Ltd operates 24/7 and 365 days a year and throughout each project the company applies its experience, expertise and best practices to complete the installation on schedule and on budget.
Since ‘Day One’, the goal for Damian and his team has been to exceed client expectations and get projects done both safely and timely.
That has always been Damian’s approach, dating back to the time when he himself first became a qualified electrician.
“Having left a previous electrical contracting company in 2017 I took the decision to go out on my own,” Damian outlined.
DND Electrical Engineering Ltd was born.
“One of the things that got to me was the lack of skilled electricians across the board. So, after sitting down with Brian Dolan we hand-picked who we wanted working with us – people that were trained properly and people who we could ensure would be capable of passing on that knowledge to the next generation coming through. With this in mind it also helps to create a great bond amongst everyone at DND and it really shows with how we perform.”
He added: “Everyone that we have here goes above and beyond for the clients and each other.”
Getting off the ground wasn’t easy but with each project the good word began to spread about the quality of the company’s work.
Now – a little over two years on – DND Electrical Engineering Ltd staff is continually growing and they are adding more vans to their fleet.
“I started here with absolutely nothing,” said Damian. “We started off with two very good electricians and it has grown from there.”
“We moved from our office in Ashbourne at the start of 2019 to our new Office in Ballycoolin with offices, dedicated stores and Workshop.”
The growth is set to continue in 2020 too, with continuing projects and more lined up in and around Dublin in its early weeks, according to the Managing Director.
“For us, it’s progressing all the time. 2018 was a good year for us and 2019 has been great, to be honest,” he said.
“We’ve been working on office fit-outs for Energia in Ashtown and then we’ve work with Aladdin Schools in Deansgrange and also CISCO in Belfast. We’ve just recently started a project for the HSE also, so it’s looking good for 2020.”
So what has been the secret to such quick growth and success for DND Electrical Engineering Ltd?
Going by Damian’s tone, carrying out excellent work in each and every project they undertake goes a long way.
“I think it’s down to our hands-on experience and the fact that the Customers that come to us know what they’re getting. We like to think here that we go above and beyond for every one of our clients,” he said.
“I like doing business with people that I know but I’m open to dealing with new clients and getting to know them and helping them to get whatever their project may need.”
The work continues at DND Electrical Engineering Ltd even after the completion of a project.
For many of the company’s clients, they provide scheduled and emergency maintenance services, as needed, as well as annual and bi-annual preventative maintenance services.
They offer this service, and many other services at great rates, all while providing clients with a personalised attention that is catered to their needs.
In November, the company’s work gained recognition on a national scale when it was shortlisted for the Fit Out Sub-Contractor of the Year at the 2019 Fit Out Awards.
While DND did not take home the gong on the night at the Clayton Hotel, it was still “an honour” to be nominated for the second year running, says Damian.
Now, looking towards the months ahead, DND’s MD is hoping that the trend in business continues and that he can add a couple more high-quality members to the DND team in Ballycoolin.
“Hopefully it’ll be more of the same with expansion along the way,” said Damian.
“We’ve excellent morale within the business, which makes things much easier, particularly at a time when there is such an industry-wide skills shortage and project programmes are becomingly increasingly tight.”
“We’re always looking to recruit but at the same time we’re also extremely selective, as one wrong appointment could cause major damage to our reputation almost overnight. We’ve worked very hard to gain trust within the marketplace so we’re keen to not jeopardise that.
“But, saying that, we are equally dedicated to providing the help and time needed in training our younger guys coming through.”
What more could you ask for than that?
DND Electrical Engineering Ltd
Unit 121,
Millennium Business Park,
Ballycoolin,
Dublin 15
Tel: 01 4439420
Mob: 087 052 1949
E-mail: [email protected]
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, April 2020, Vol 6 No 2
