ThermoHeat is a young, upwardly mobile mechanical contracting company offering a complete range of heating, plumbing, ventilation, and air-conditioning solutions to commercial clients. Building Ireland caught up with hands-on founder and proprietor Tom McGuirk to gain insight into this remarkable success story.
Servicing the commercial, healthcare, education, leisure/hospitality, industrial, public, and retail sectors, ThermoHeat has quickly established itself as a homegrown mechanical engineering contractor of choice.
The company is powered by the energy, enthusiasm, integrity, attention to detail, and can-do attitude of founder/director Tom McGuirk, a plumber by trade who takes an active role in every project, invariably leaving no stone unturned to ensure that all work consistently meets or exceeds client expectations.
Through hard work and professionalism, starting from scratch, Tom has, against all odds, built ThermoHeat into a reputable and in-demand mechanical contractor. It’s a remarkable and inspirational story that stands as a testament to the value of delivering quality workmanship and service.
“I’m a plumber by trade, and I set up ThermoHeat in June 2018,” Tom reflects. “I was only 25 when I started the business and I’m only 33 now, so I’m a relatively young business owner.”
In the beginning, ThermoHeat was a one-man, one-van operation focused on installation and repair work. The business grew organically on the back of rising demand for exceptional service. Gradually, Tom took on light commercial and maintenance work, and one contract led to another. The growth of ThermoHeat has been both natural and sustainable.
As the volume of work increased, Tom began to employ other plumbers to help. Today, ThermoHeat boasts an in-house team of 30 vastly experienced and highly skilled personnel, including directly employed plumbers and pipefitters/welders.
ThermoHeat consistently provides clients with unrivalled expertise, high-quality service, and outstanding safety standards, understanding that reliable and expert installation and maintenance are essential to the smooth and efficient running of clients’ businesses.
Over the past seven years, ThermoHeat has built a reputation for high-quality mechanical installations and maintenance. This reputation has spread across the industry, and the company’s business and client portfolio have expanded accordingly.
“I started out with literally nothing other than the intention of doing quality work. We had no contacts and no money, we even had to rent that first van. Our first break came when we secured a large contract with a major company to supply and fit sanitary ware. We then moved into the mechanical fit-out market and have continued to expand and grow.”
Today, ThermoHeat works with a who’s who of contractors and companies, including Roccul Limited, StructureTone, Flynn MC, Built Interiors, Vision Contracting, Connect Construct, and Procon Modular, to name just a few. Some recently completed projects include Barry’s Gym, Castlethorn Head Office, Alexandra College, Loreto College and a Pathfinder project at St Patrick’s College & Maynooth University.
Tom has assembled a brilliant team around him and acknowledges that they are all instrumental to the ongoing success and growth of the business:
“We have 25 plumbers directly employed. Our contracts manager Paul oversees all the major jobs, and Caolan is our in-house mechanical engineer. Suzanne looks after accounts and general administration, while Trevor and Peter are senior site managers. As a plumber myself, I’m heavily involved in a hands-on capacity.
“At ThermoHeat, we handle all plumbing works directly in-house rather than subcontracting them. This allows us to maintain full control over quality and consistency. While we subcontract other specialist services, the core plumbing element is always carried out by our own team.
“In terms of project types, we cover everything, but at the moment we’re doing a lot of education work, modular schools for Procon Modular, Pathfinder Schools for Vision Contracting, and school renovations for Roccul, as well as several fit-outs, including offices and commercial buildings, for StructureTone, Flynn MC, and Built Interiors.”
As a self-built business with a strong emphasis on client care, ThermoHeat always provides a personal touch.
“People deal directly with me,” says Tom. “While many company owners remain in the background, I take a hands-on approach. I’m always accessible and ready to go to site to see first-hand what’s happening on the ground. I’m fully transparent and deal directly with builders, project managers, consultants, and main contractors.
“It’s an approach that’s working because our turnover has increased steadily year on year, from €300,000 in 2018 to around €7 million now. Since the very first job I did, the quality of work left behind has always been of the highest possible standard.
“We’re also a very polite and friendly company, down to earth and easy to deal with. For me, it’s all about building relationships and getting jobs over the line. Look, I’m not a salesman, I’m a plumber, but I know that clients are staying with us and coming back because of the service we provide and the knowledge we have across our team. We’re not here to show off or boast, just to keep our heads down and get the work done.”
Although further growth seems inevitable, it’s not something Tom and ThermoHeat are actively chasing:
“There has never been any plan to grow or reach a certain size,” he concludes. “All our growth has come from leaving good work behind and building relationships. We’re getting a lot of repeat business and will continue to tender for new jobs… if we get them, we get them.
“Every penny we’ve ever made has been through hard work. We know what we’re doing, and I’d be very reluctant to grow just for the sake of it. We’re doing a lot of projects ranging from around €300,000 to €1 million, and my priority is to keep all clients happy at all times and not overstretch ourselves. We have a lot of good clients, and we’re going to keep looking after them.”
ThermoHeat,
Kildare Innovation Campus,
Barnhall Road,
Parsonstown,
Leixlip,
County Kildare.
Tel: 087 692 4420
Email: [email protected]
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, Winter 2025, Vol 11 No 14
