In the fast-moving building industry, delivery of projects in a timely fashion is of paramount importance. Operating across the domestic, commercial and industrial sectors, Ian Kelly Electrical Ltd is a company that can be trusted to deliver jobs on schedule and within budget.
Honesty is our number one policy,” MD Ian Kelly explained in conversation with Building Ireland, “and, in the era of the ‘new Celtic Tiger’, that is very important.
“We give an honest and accurate breakdown of costs. What you see is what you get with us and we expected to be treated the same. We are very proud of our quality assurance and deliverance.” Established in 2006, Ian Kelly Electrical Ltd is based at the Citylink Business Park and the company is unique in that is offers a wide range of services through two divisions allowing clients to find solutions to their project needs.
In 2013, the burgeoning enterprise moved into their new purpose built premises that now allows them the room to expand their support and manufacturing areas so they are able to offer wider ranging support services.
The demands on their services are ever changing due to the diversity of their clients’ projects which they are constantly developing and evolving to meet these requirements.
This approach stood to the company during the lean times of the economic recession which they safely negotiated thanks to a combination of hard work and perseverance.
“After serving my apprenticeship, I worked for a number of years in supervisor roles with Suir Engineering,” Ian recalled. “I decided to go out on my own, a year before the recession hit!
“We subsequently moved into factory maintenance contracts when the recession came and were lucky to secure contracts that kept us going. We then went back into the commercial market and did the work on Lifestyle Sports’ flagship store on Grafton Street which was the first vacant building on Grafton Street to be occupied after the recession.”
Ian and his 32 employees, which includes his wife Jenny, who is also a director, are completely focused on quality and customer service. They believe their reputation is their best sales generator which has proved correct over the years with their high customer retention level.
Their loyal client list includes well-known, established names such as Insomnia, Shannon Airport, Lifestyle Sports, Citywest and Eddie Rocketts, to name but a few.
“We’ve just finished working on a 93-bedroom extension in Mount Juliet Hotel while were looking after the maintenance at the Citywest Hotel,” Ian revealed. “We’ve also a number of one off private dwellings on the go at the moment as well as apartment developments on Merrion Road and Pembroke Road. Last December we finished a development of 18 high end houses at Brambledown in Carrickmines.
“We’ve also secured new contracts with Castleknock Tennis Club and the Legal Aid Board and we’re very optimistic about the future. The portfolio for this year already looks full while we’re hoping to secure some major projects that are coming on stream.”
Ian Kelly Electrical Ltd invest in all their staff with continued training and in their skills development through their training division. The management team believe that their image has to immediately present a high level of quality as their staff carry out works on prestigious premises, so they are uniformed and equipped with the latest tools and equipment.
Their team has the required specialist knowledge to support each of the services and they work hard to seamlessly integrate into their clients working methods.
“We’re In talks with a number of clients about different projects but we’d need to expand our workforce before we can add more work.
“I’d obviously love to grow our staff numbers but there is a shortage of suitably qualified people in the country. My plan in the future is to develop a training centre in our office because there are millennials out there who have never been on a building site.
“We took on seven first year apprentices in 2017, aged between 17 and 21, and we encouraged them to come into the electrical industry by showing them our office first before sending them out to sites.
“We’ve a stand-alone unit in our office where we can demonstrate how things work out on the site. For example, we show them why it is important that when you are out on a site that you get a socket on the wall as quick as you can. We train them up before they go out on site and then, after that, we bring them in one day a week for additional training.
“I’m hoping to develop my team from the ground up rather than through trying to poach people from other companies.”
Ian practices what he preaches. “I’m 40 now and I’ve been training for the last 13 to 14 years. I’m of the opinion that I’m only finding my feet now. I’m learning every day on the job and I hope to keep learning into the future.”
Ian Kelly Electrical Ltd
Unit 8
Citylink Business Park
Old Naas Road
Dublin 12
Head Office: +353 (1) 685 4685
Mobile: +353 (0)87 761 2325
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.iankellyelectrical.ie
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, July 2018, Vol 4 No 6
