P.O.B. Crane and Plant Services Ltd have been lifting big since its establishment in January 1999. There have been plenty of ups and downs in the meantime, which Managing Director Peter O’Brien filled us in on, along with some of the projects his cranes are currently involved in.

The Irish construction industry is in a different place than it was a few years back and P.O.B. Crane and Plant Services Ltd in Blanchardstown is glad to hear the good news, and is ready for the challenges ahead.

Headed up by Offaly native Peter O’Brien, the company has grown from strength to strength over the past 18 years, and is now feeling the benefits of an upturn in the property market around the capital.

Peter started P.O.B. Crane and Plant Services Ltd having worked in the industry during his time in the UK and has come to learn the business inside out. He gave us the lowdown about his company and what they’ve been up to as of late.

“The company was established in 1999 and our office is based in Blanchardstown, Dublin 15. Currently we have nine staff directly employed here,” Peter outlined. “We do a total crane hire service, and business is very good here. Presently, among others, we have a crane at the VHI offices on old Abbey Street for Collen Group and six cranes out in Dún Laoghaire for Cosgrave Development on the old golf course, we also have three cranes working on an apartment project at Harold’s Cross.”

The company’s cranes go all over Ireland – and have also been in Scotland – but are mostly based throughout Dublin, where the demand has been as high as ever in recent years.

Most of the cranes at P.O.B. Crane and Plant Services Ltd are currently out on site and Peter can’t ask for much more than that, as his clients continue to opt for our services and cranes for their projects.

“We have 28 cranes out on hire, with two of those currently in Rathgar working on apartments going up for Cairn Homes,” the Managing Director outlined. “We’re also doing some work for Stewart Group over the next 12 months on Mount Street, Beamont Hospital & Charlemont Street.”

Now into a new year, 2017 looks to be very busy indeed for Peter and co, with some long-term projects already embarked on.

With three quarters of their cranes presently out on hire, P.O.B. Crane and Plant Services Ltd are set to purchase at least five new cranes this year, 4 are already on order, to help cope with the business demand. Peter has no problem in doing so, with business continuing to thrive and demand for their cranes high.

“The work that we’re doing for Cairn Homes, Collen, Cosgrave and Stewart will more than likely run for the next year into 2018, and we’re also looking at adding more cranes this year.” he said.  “We’ve also got several projects starting soon, one off the Naas Road and one at NUI Maynooth.  So all in all, we’ve 28 out on hire and 6 still in the yard ready for dispatch,  so we can’t complain about that, and we look forward to that kind of demand continuing.”

The demand from clients immersing the construction industry has steadily increased since the close of the downturn and it’s no coincidence that P.O.B. Crane and Plant Services Ltd have been first choice for so many working throughout Dublin

The firm offers its clients highly competitive rates, along with a first class service and reliability.

Regarding the high level of service the company offers Peter filled us in : “We’re excellent at what we do, our record attests to this, we’re very professional and reliable, and the fact that so many of our clients, like Collen Construction and Cosgrave, come back to us repeatedly also shows that”

Repeat business is always welcome and that’s something which Peter learned from his days in England when he first started out in this line of work.

Peter had always had a strong interest in the Crane Hire business, but it was his move across the Irish Sea that saw him take the first steps towards setting up his own company.

Now, almost 30 years later, that company is thriving to the point where they’re planning to increase the fleet of 34 cranes in order to keep up with the demand,  which is a far cry from when he first started out in the business.

Peter told us about his early years, getting into the business:  “I worked in England for five years before I came home and started this business. I went to the UK in 1988 and got into driving cranes and maintenance work on them as well, learning the business from the bottom up. When I came home I started working with another crane company, organising things for them and saw no reason not to go out on my own.”

The transition from working for a crane hire company to starting up his own was far from smooth for Peter, like any new business, it takes time to gain consistent clients. Add to that a harsh recession devastating the construction industry in Ireland come 2007 and you begin to get the picture with regards to how far P.O.B. Crane and Plant Services has come in the space of 18 years.

“Things are very positive for 2017, and we look forward to providing, not only hire cranes, but our consistent high level of service to our clients. We’ll be buying a few more, and we plan to have them available immediately for our clients needs.”

P.O.B. Crane and Plant Services Ltd 

46 Glenville Avenue

Blanchardstown

Dublin

Ireland

Tel: +353 1 8219656

Fax: +353 1 8243678

Email:  [email protected]

Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, April 2017, Vol 3 No 3

P.O.B. Crane and Plant Services