Based along the Westport Rd in Castlebar, Co Mayo, Moran Construction is a building and civil engineering company which covers all aspects of construction for its clients. Building Ireland spoke with Martin Moran jnr to learn all about this thriving venture out west – from its origins to the projects it has on-going at the present.
These are busy times at Moran Construction and the hopes for the Moran clan along the Westport Road in Castlebar are to keep things that way throughout this year – the company’s 45th in existence.
First set-up by Martin Moran snr in 1977, the family-run business has gained extensive experience in both residential and commercial projects within the public and private sector.
Martin snr still heads up the company as Managing Director while his son Martin jnr is a director of the company which today employs 20 direct staff.
Building Ireland touched base with Martin jnr to hear more on what this venture out west has going on at the moment, as well as its hopes for the coming months and heading into 2023.
“Business is good at the moment but it’s not without its challenges,” said Martin jnr.
“Right now, we’re doing a lot of residential work and we have two social housing contracts that are active.
“We’ve a turnkey project in Claremorris and another development in Castlebar, as well as a lot of private houses on-going in Castlebar.
“We’re doing a pharmaceutical job with Baxter Healthcare since November of last year and four one off houses which would be nearby us here.”
The company focuses its work “mainly in and around Mayo” according to Martin jnr whom grew up working alongside his father on the weekends and in the summers, before eventually becoming a permanent fixture in the family business.
In 2006, Martin Moran jnr became a director of the company and the rest, as they say, is history.
It also saw Moran Construction officially becoming a third-generation family business, as Martin jnr himself explained.
“My father would’ve worked with his father and I suppose I followed in his footsteps,” he said.
“I kind of grew up working in the company and I went on and did my trade as a carpenter then worked alongside my father.
“I became a director in 2006 and my father and I are still here working together and, hopefully, it’ll stay like that until he’s ready to retire.”
Since its inception, Moran Construction has built its business through ensuring a strong working relationship with clients and they strive to deliver excellence in all aspects of the business.
It’s a business which prides itself on having highly skilled and experienced staff to make sure that all projects are carried out to the highest professional standard.
Right now, the construction industry is in the midst of unprecedented times due to the Covid-19 pandemic and government lockdowns which brought thousands of projects across Ireland to a standstill practically overnight.
Since that time, materials costs are now at an all-time high and companies like Moran Construction are feeling the effects as much as any.
“It has been challenging, like I said, and the biggest problem now is probably labour shortages and price increases,” said Martin jnr.
“It’s hard to know when the material costs will ease and, between Covid and lockdowns, there’s still a backlog of work there.
“We’ve one-off housing developments that were brought to a halt during the lockdowns because they weren’t deemed essential, so we’ve had to concentrate on those and the other projects we have on-going at the moment.”
Nonetheless, Moran Construction remains busy with projects all over Mayo and are currently looking at lining up even more to make up for lost time.
So, the question is what has been the secret to this family company’s success over the last four-and-a-half decades?
For Martin jnr, he sees much of it coming down to the trust Moran Construction has earned from its clients through delivering excellent projects time and time again.
“We’d be very hands-on in our approach to projects and like to be involved with the client from the start,” said the director.
“Many of them would know my father and know that they can rely on us to carry out quality projects for them.
“So, I suppose they choose us first because they know we’re reliable, because we’ve been tried and tested down through the years and the work that we’ve done can been seen all over Castlebar and the rest of the county.”
The good work continues with more down the pipeline for the company in the coming months.
Looking ahead, Martin jnr is keen to get more projects on the books so as to keep the Moran Construction moving in the right direction as it nears closer and closer to half a century since first putting a spade in the ground.
“We want to finish what we’re currently at first and foremost,” he said.
“After that, we’d want to secure more new business and hopefully progress the company at the same time as well.
“There’s still a big demand for houses out there at the moment and we’re keen to meet it for our clients.”
Great to hear.
Moran Construction
Westport Rd,
Castlebar,
Co. Mayo
Tel: 094 9023164
Fax: 094 9023164
E-mail: [email protected]
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, October 2022, Vol 8 No 10
