With twelve years’ experience of the solar panels industry and more than 7,000 systems installed across Ireland and the UK, Activ8 Energies is Ireland’s premier installer of solar energy systems. We visited their base in Carrickmacross, County Monaghan and met general manager Aidan Marron and MD Ciaran Marron to find out more about this exceptional, pioneering enterprise.
SEAI’s top installer of solar panels for the last five years, Activ8 Energies was established in 2004 by Ciaran Marron. During the intervening years, the trailblazing company has developed into the undisputed market leader in its specialist field, having singlehandedly revolutionised the solar thermal industry here in Ireland.
Ciaran studied electrical engineering at DKIT and, with the construction sector thriving at the time, established CM Electrical upon leaving college in 2004. Shortly afterwards, he also set up Activ8 Energies to initially work alongside builders and developers. Gradually, the solar thermal business took on a life of its own and Ciaran has focussed exclusively on this since ’08, setting new standards within this specialist field:
“We took things to a new level whereby the entire system could all be installed in just one day,” notes general manager Aidan Marron. “Before that, it would have taken much longer but we send three men to each job and get it done as quickly as possible. An electrician, a roofer and a plumber will all arrive at around 8-9am and they will be annoyed with themselves if they aren’t out of there by 2pm. We have four-five teams on the road between solar thermal, which is for hot water, and solar PV (photovoltaic), which is for electricity.”
Solar NI was established in 2012 and carries out a large volume of solar PV installations in the North. “We were recession-proof for three years in solar thermal but there was some downtime in ’12 so we entered the Northern Ireland market for solar PV.”
Activ8 Energies is equally at home working on retrofits and new builds… “We’d do approximately 15-20 retrofit residential jobs per week and we’re also on site doing solar PV on new-build residential sites, where we’d do up to six jobs per day. We have a team dedicated to that and they work on large developments nationwide. We’re currently working on three such developments in the Dublin commuter area but can work anywhere,” says Aidan.
Manufactured exclusively for Activ8 Energies by the world’s premier manufacturer of solar panels, Activ8’s Atlas solar panels are tailored to the Irish market and are quite simply in a league of their own. “In 2008, we joined forces with GREENoneTEC in Austria, the world’s largest manufacturer of panels. The products are specifically designed and manufactured to suit Irish roofs and Irish elements. Ciaran went over to them in person and specified the exact changes and tweaks he wanted to make to the panels, so we now have the best make of panels in the world, which are ideal for the Irish market.”
Around the same time, Activ8 also started a partnership with Joule Engineering Group to design more efficient solar cylinders, which would be more easily plumbed. “Each one is built, bespoke, to suit any one house,” Aidan continues. “This is another very important partnership and we have just signed a new €2.5m contract with additional improvements to the design of these bespoke cylinders.”
With complete control over the quality and spec of the products they supply and install, Activ8 Energies have assumed a commanding place at the forefront of the marketplace. “We’ve been solar thermal market leaders since ’09,” the general manager proudly confirms. “Using grant figures, SEAI showed us as the largest installer in 2011 and there’s no reason to believe that has changed. If anything, our position has strengthened.
“Last year, we recorded growth of 28%. We’ve been able to rehire one of our installation teams and it’s really nice to get back to where we were pre-recession. Our growth forecast for the current financial year is an additional 20% and we are extremely optimistic about our prospects going forward beyond that.”
This optimism is based on solid footing. Activ8 Energies combines unrivalled expertise, cutting-edge products and exceptionally high installation and service levels (using highly-trained and motivated technicians) to provide optimal solutions to an ever-increasing number of happy customers.
“We have always considered ourselves to be an engineering company with a strong sales arm as opposed to the other way around. Our quality management system is rigid and we received ISO 9001 certification in 2015, which again underlines our commitment to excellence and correct procedures.
“We are particularly proud of the fact that we are the only solar specialist in Ireland to hold that accreditation. The construction industry knows how difficult that is to get and it reassures our customers further that they are working with a quality company.
“We fully warranty our workmanship for two years, while all the products also come with a full manufacturer’s warranty – on the pumps, panels, controllers and cylinders. We offer unrivalled back-up and we make sure all customers have complete peace of mind.
“Our customer care team fields Facebook, telephone and email queries and we invite our customers to engage with us. We will take their calls and assist them in any way we can. We also reach out to our customers on a regular basis to let them know that we are here to service and check their system if they would like us to,” Aidan states.
MD Ciaran Marron – who has sat on a number of committees in the Construction Industry Federation, Retrofit Association etc. – says he is very happy with where Activ8 Energies are at right now. “We don’t meet the standards, we set them,” he concludes. “We have been proactive and we have pushed the company forward and I’m extremely pleased to be keeping my staff in work. I look after them and I firmly believe that if you are good to your staff they will look after you in turn.
“It has taken a lot of hard work to get to where we are today but I have taken this business and this industry very seriously. We know what we are doing and we know what we’re talking about.
“We have invested a lot of time and money into developing exceptional products and services and we want to share those with as many property owners as possible.”
Activ8 Energies,
Shercock Road,
Carrickmacross,
County Monaghan.
Tel: 1890 929828
Fax: 042 9690607
Email:
[email protected]
Web: activ8energies.com
Taken from Building Ireland magazine Vol 2 No 2, May/June 2016
