Success in business can be founded on a number of basis, but one thing that the majority of successful companies have in common is experience.
Every day is a learning process in the business world and the more days you are trading, the more experience that is gathered. This is particularly true in the construction industry where every decision must be taken with the utmost caution.
The building trade has been through major change over the last few years. Unfortunately, the recession took its toll on many companies, but there were some that came through relatively unscathed.
Once again, the one component that these firms had in common was longevity and for this month’s edition of Building Ireland, we profile Cork based Summerhill Construction Co Ltd who have been trading since 1969.
Founder and managing director Jim O’Sullivan has seen many changes to the industry over the years and the fact that the company has come through three recessions and is still as strong as ever tells its own story.
Over the years, Summerhill’s customer base has grown as they provide building and civil engineering services across the country, while their reputation for completing projects to the highest standard, on time and within budget now sees them recognised as a renowned construction industry.
The Cork based firm have a broad portfolio of successfully completed projects across a range of sectors including residential, restoration / refurbishment, hospitality, commercial, industrial, education, healthcare and pharmaceutical.
More recent projects include fitouts for Starbucks, Moore Stephens Accountants Head Quarters, Cork Institute of Technology (CIT) – Various Projects, Cork Chamber of Commerce – Phase 1 & 2, Mater Private Hospital Cork, Heath Service Executive (HSE) – Various Projects and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
So what makes Summerhill Construction Co Ltd so successful? “Patience is one virtue that has stood to us over the years. You have to have patience in business and by this I mean not rushing into any major decisions that could have a detrimental effect on the company,” said Jim.
“We are almost 50 years in business and we are still learning, and we are willing to learn in order to give our customers the best service possible.”
Jim revealed that one decision that has stood to them over the years is the fact that they never outgrew themselves and always kept a tight rein on their overheads.
“We never got too big. There are 22 employed directly and we would use a number of sub contractors as well. During the recession many companies got too big too quickly and they paid the price. Indeed, it became farcical as they were people who had no experience in the construction industry and suddenly they became ‘developers’, while the banks were throwing money at them.
“Work has certainly picked up, but the majority of the money being used for projects is either coming from the U.S or Britain and not from the banks like many people think.
“I believe in steady growth and that has stood to us as well down through the years. You never know what is going to happen in this industry so you always have to take a cautious approach.”
Summerhill Construction Co Ltd are continuously investing in the business as Jim feels it is important to do so to ensure the quality of their work meets their clients’ expectations.
“We continue to invest in modern business practices and management techniques in order to ensure that we remain at the cutting edge of our industry.
“We continue to build on our reputation with our focus firmly on growing the ability of the business to deliver in new and innovative ways. Our ambition and goals for almost half a century have always been to deliver quality projects and value for money to our clients; our success and reputation today has been testament to this wisdom.”
A family run business, Jim’s sons Dan and James are also involved in the day to day running of the company as they look to the future.
“We are pleased with business at the moment. We are involved in a number of projects around the country and we are constantly tendering for work. Our customer base would include many repeat customers like Starbucks, JCD Group, Mater Private Hospital Cork, Johnson & Perrott Motor Group, CIT, HSE, UCC, EPA and many more.”
One major change within the industry in more recent years has been the focus on health and safety and Jim stressed that all this was for the good of the building sector.
“Yes there is a massive emphasis placed on health and safety. There are a lot of regulations in place now and it means a lot more paperwork, but it is certainly all very beneficial. We have our own in-house health and safety team and we don’t have any issues.”
Jim is confident that they can continue to deliver on projects and work with the many clients that they have provided their services too over the years.
“We have built our reputation on our client focus and hands-on approach and are proud of the fact that the majority of our workload comes from repeat business.
“Our dependable reputation comes from our attention to detail and our reliable execution of all projects undertaken. This is achieved through our experienced team having the drive and ability to complete projects efficiently with customer satisfaction being the main goal.”
Contact Details:
Summerhill Construction Co Ltd
Donoughmore, Co. Cork
Ireland
t: +353 21 7337078
f: +353 21 7337102
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, August 2017, Vol 3 No 7
