Established 22 years ago, Smith Groundworks and Civil Engineering Ltd works in all sectors of the construction industry on wide range of groundworks, roadworks, demolition and civil engineering projects.
Specialising in all aspects of earthworks from bulk excavations to foundations as well as the laying of water mains, electrical ducting and sewer and storm water lines. This Carlow based company also have waste collection permits for the Leinster area.
All employees are trained to be a very high standard and are skilled, experienced and dedicated workers who complete work that meets and exceeds their customers’ expectations.
One of the ‘secrets’ to their success is their focus on ensuring customer satisfaction. This is obtained through working together as a team.
Over the years, the company has developed an excellent working relationship with some of the biggest building companies in the country as well as local authorities and other public sector bodies.
Currently, the firm employs in the region of 40 people (this can vary depending on how busy they are), many of who have over ten years’ experience with Smith Groundworks and Civil Engineering Ltd.
Managing Director Pat Smith is ably assisted by his wife Assumpta in the day to day running of the business and he revealed to Building Ireland that business is going very well at the moment.
“We have a number of projects ongoing at present,” said Pat. “We are involved in projects for Walls and ABM with work ongoing in Citywest and Grangegorman.”
There are much more legislation and regulations to be adhered too in the construction industry these days than has been the case in the past and this means that there is a lot more paperwork to be processed.
“There needs to be certs for everything these days and it is up to us in the office to keep on top of that, which we do. Once you have everything in order, it makes our jobs that bit easier, but it is essential to make sure that every document is up to date.”
Smith Groundworks & Civil Engineering Ltd offer the full package to their customers as they carry out digger work for foundations, all drains, communication cables; you name it. They have four trucks on the road at the moment and they hire in more whenever they need them for bigger projects or whatever the case is.
In recent years, the company has been concentrating their work on educational buildings and property – which was a common practice for many construction outfits during the economic downturn. However, their work is certainly more varied these days as the construction industry thrives once again.
Pat revealed that they work closely with the main contractor on every project to create a plan of action which allows them to complete all site services and drainage including connections to live mains in a single phase of work. This results in a complete array of services being in place, connected and ready for use while the project is in its infancy.
The family run business continuously invests in the business as they strive to maintain the standards that both themselves and their clients are used too.
“The machinery would be upgraded on a regular basis. We would shop around for the best deal and often find we can source better quality machinery at a competitive price in the U.K, but we have bought in Ireland as well.”
Regardless of the size of any project, the company use all their experience and capabilities to demonstrate their quality of work throughout projects.
Pat stressed that they do everything by the book as it is the only way to do things these days as their reputation is at stake otherwise.
“We take our work seriously. We are fully insured, tax compliant and (C2) registered. Where applicable, we do a full risk assessment and provide safety statements before any work is done.”
Health and Safety is a massive industry within the construction industry and Pat added that this is an area that they place a huge emphasis on.
“We at Smith Groundworks Ltd believe that the workplace should be a safe working environment. We have Derek Roche CMIOSH Safety Consultant working with us to ensure that all our employees are up to date with H.S.A. requirements. All machinery is checked weekly to ensure that it is in perfect working order and all legal requirements are met.
“By outlining to employees that they have a responsibility for their own Safety and Health and reminding them that their actions can impact on the lives of others. We expect all or employees to co-operate with their safety officer and supervisors in all matter pertaining to Health and Safety.”
Increasing staff numbers is no surprise to see as Pat is a man keen on getting the job done right, meaning he won’t leave himself short-handed, and that’s part of the reason why outfits like Mythen Construction in Wexford, Sammon Building and Duggan’s in Tipperary have stuck with Smith Groundworks and Civil Engineering Ltd for the best part of 20 years.
“We’ve built up a solid reputation down through the years and we’ve delivered for our clients time and time again. We are reliable, and I think that’s very important in this line of work. If we say we’re going to be there at such a time, we’ll be there.”
Demolition work is something the company have adapted into their repertoire of services over the past decade or so and it has seen them becoming first choice for plenty of projects since.
“We got our lads here trained up to carry out demolition for big projects and they’ve all the certificates now.”
Pat concluded by stating that they are happy with the direction of the business and the aim now is to continue servicing the needs of their long standing clients.
“Yes, we would be pleased with the workload that we have on at the moment. We have a good team here and the companies that we work for are very good also.”
Contact Details:
Smith Groundworks and Civil Engineering Ltd
Constable Hill,
Hacketstown,
Co Carlow
Phone: 059 6471827
Mob: 087 2771939
Web: smithgroundworksandcivilengineering.ie
Email: [email protected]
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, November 2019, Vol 5 No 10
Smith Groundworks and Civil Engineering
