Based in Clane, Co Kildare, OBD Electrical Ltd provides its customers with Electrical supplies from the leading brands in the market. Building Ireland spoke with proprietor Audrey O’Brien to learn all about the ins and outs of the company – from its origins to the overall state of business today.
These are busy times at OBD Electrical Ltd and the plan for the OBD Electrical Wholesale Team in Clane, Co Kildare is to try and keep things that way right through to next year.
Operating out of Unit 6A, Clane Business Park along the College Road, the company was first set-up by Audrey and Jack O’Brien in 2015 and today sees the company growing with additional two family members involved in the Day to date run of the Business.
Six full-time staff are employed within the company and the past eight years have saw it become a reliable and trusted wholesale outlet for customers in need of brand-leading electrical supplies.
Building Ireland touched base with Audrey O’Brien to hear more on this successful venture which, as it stands, is fast approaching a decade in business.
“When we started off here, we started small,” she outlined. “Myself and Jack done the first year virtual from the house and then we got our first little warehouse the other side of Clane.
“Jack stayed in his job just to make sure it kicked off, so I started running it for about a year-and-a-half on my own and then Alan Hayes came on board with 25 years-experience in the trade. He has been with us now for six years.
“From the start we used to do all building materials as well as electrics but then we found there was a niche for the electrical, so we stopped doing the building and just focused on the electrical wholesale.
“We’ve just grown from there. We’ve literally got our name out as much as we could and we’re doing a lot of sites now around Leinster and we now supply all the top Brands.
“Our Suppliers have been very, very supportive of us being that we were a small independent business. We were now able to get all the top brands at competitive prices with Same Day Delivery.”
Audrey’s own background had been in accounts, while Jack was a Purchasing Manager and Operations Director before they set up OBD Electrical Wholesale.
Now, OBD Electrical Ltd is very much an established electrical wholesale with Exceptional Sales Growth year on year. With their highest record in 2022.
“Business has been brilliant. ” said Audrey “We got through Covid without having to let staff go, so that was a big plus for us, with last year been one of our biggest years and this year set to exceed that.
She added: “During Covid we were nervous because we were so young but, obviously, we were allowed to stay open because of our service.
“Our Mantra is whatever the customer needs, OBD Electrical Ltd can get it for them.”
OBD provides a same day delivery service throughout Leinster and next day national wide and customers can rest assured that orders will be there for them in a timely manner and great value along with it.
Through its transport and storage partners, OBD also offers very competitive prices and customers can avail of its storage facilities while their projects are under construction with Consignment stocking available.
So, all of that considered, the clear question is what has been the secret behind the success of this family-run business to date?
How has a small start-up growing into a thriving venture that today holds an excellent reputation amongst its customers?
As Audrey sees it, it comes down to a combination of different factors which ensures that the company’s customers get the service they’re looking for.
“They love the attention they get. They love the service and the staff.
“There’s a lot of loyalty there and we’ve also built-up relationships and friendships over the years as well.”
She continued: “We’ve had great support from our customers, I have to say. We have lads who have stuck with us and we’re quite competitive now.
“We’ve grown with the help of our suppliers and customers. We’ve got a great credit rating, so suppliers are now giving us better prices and we are more competitive. That’s how we’re getting in with the large construction companies on multiple sites.”
So far, the story has been a successful one for OBD Electrical Ltd and the O’Brien’s and their team aim to keep it that way.
Looking towards the months ahead, Audrey says they are keen to keep growing the business gradually out at Clane Business Park and looks forward to increasing our customer base.
“With continuous positive feed back from our suppliers and customers we want to keep providing quality products at competitive prices to ensure growth into the future.”
OBD Electrical Ltd
Unit 6A,
Clane Business Park,
College Road,
Clane,
Co Kildare W91 H9T4
Tel: 045 579444
Email: [email protected]
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, August 2023, Vol 9 No 8
