Rumour has it that Tralee based Clash Plumbing & Heating Ltd needs to build a bigger trophy room for all the awards they have received in recent years.
This opening line may be said with ‘tongue in cheek’ in mind, but realistically, it might not be too far from the truth as the family run business picked up a further three awards at this year’s Plumbing & Heating Awards.
The team at Clash Plumbing & Heating have become accustomed to making the long drive from Kerry to Dublin for the prestigious awards event, but returning home with three awards is unprecedented.
The company was nominated in the categories of Small Domestic Project of the Year, Plumber of the Year and Green Technology Project of the Year, winning awards for all three.
Clash Plumbing & Heating Ltd MD Trevor O’Shea admitted that to win three awards was hugely gratifying, especially at such a prestigious event.
The family run business which also includes Trevor’s wife Mary who looks after the administration side of the day to day activities has been growing every year.
“Yes, I suppose were overwhelmed to come away with three awards. In 2017, we won Contractor of the Year, but to win three awards this year is something special. The awards event is a great night. It’s great to get this recognition for all the hard work that’s gone in over the years. While the bit of publicity won’t do any harm, it was definitely more about the recognition as far as I’m concerned.”
Placing a great deal of pride in their work is one of the reasons for the success that the business has gathered over the years, according to Trevor.
“We are a company who prides ourselves in our work and always has done. We are working for many of the same clients for many years now and I think that is a testament to do work that we do.”
Specialising in heat pumps and underfloor heating, Clash Plumbing & Heating Ltd cover a wide range of services within the industry which sees them carry out work in the commercial, industrial and domestic sectors.
Clash Plumbing & Heating Ltd was crowned a winner in the Small Domestic Project of the Year category at Ireland’s Plumbing & Heating Awards.
In a first for the awards, the judges selected two highly commended and two winners in this category. Clash Plumbing and Heating was named a winner for the company’s work at Verdi Glenn, The Spa, Tralee for main contractor Farnes Construction who have over 20 years’ experience in the industry and are a leading building contractor that operate within once off housing to multi-unit housing developments. Commercial Projects to Factory Developments, Garden Centres to Hotels and Hotel Renovations.
This retrofit project saw the installation of underfloor heating, heat recovery units and air-to-water heat pumps. It had been proposed to remove the flooring from the building to install underfloor heating but after a consultation with Clash Plumbing & Heating it became evident this could be done without removing it. This decision saved the client approximately €8000.
“The job entailed ripping up the existing floor and putting in the underfloor heating, but on inspection, we realised that there was a very high ceiling in the building and instead of taking up the floor, we could lay the underfloor heating on top of the existing floor and put a sub-floor on top of it, which resulted in saving the customer €8,000, which they were obviously delighted with.
“Another savings for the client was that there was finding available from the SEAI, which we were able to get. This meant our work passed the necessary inspections from the SEAI which was an added bonus for us.”
The second of the awards won on the night was the Plumber of the Year award where the judges praised the high levels of workmanship and skill shown by Clash Plumbing & Heating. They were also impressed with the work ethic and willingness to travel far and wide to take on projects. This second-generation family business focuses on renewables as Trevor revealed that one off houses and some commercial projects are their main focus.
“We’re not interested in housing estates, we deal with people on a one-to-one basis and maintain very personal relationships with our clients. A lot of people have misconceptions about heat pumps, underfloor heating and new technologies. My father was involved with underfloor heating projects 45 years ago, it’s not something that is new to us, we have been doing heat pumps for 18 years and solar for 25 years. We consider ourselves to be experts in these technologies.”
The third award saw the company come away with the Green Technology Project of the Year for their work on a 160-year-old building in Killorglin.
The building has recently been transformed into the Kingston Bar & Townhouse comprising 13 guest rooms, a bar and a restaurant. Installation included a new heating system, a photovoltaic system and a heat recovery system as well as recess work and the re-piping of the whole building.
“The owner was committed to using renewable energy which comes at a price, but the dividends pay off in the end as the technology used left the owners with annual running costs of just €100, despite the demands of running the guest rooms, professional kitchen and bar area.
The judges were impressed with the technology used by Clash Plumbing & Heating and praised the client for sharing the vision of committing 100 percent to the use of Green Technology.
Trevor was keen to point out that any of the success that they have achieved was down to a reliable and experienced workforce who are dedicated to getting the work done to the highest standard possible.
“A lot of the guys that are with us would be here for 20 years plus and the experience that they bring to our projects is invaluable and we are fortunate to have them. Some of them would have served their time as apprentices and are still with us. We continue to take on apprentices which we feel keep the dynamic of the company.”
Trevor is pleased with their workload at the minute and although he doesn’t rule out the possibility of expansion in the future, they are pleased to continue in the direction they are going.
“Like I said earlier, our focus is on one-off houses. It is nice to go into a one-off house and meet a client with different ideas. There are different systems being introduced all the time, whereas on housing developments, the work can be very repetitive. We are not tied into any particular companies and I think that has stood us in good stead over the years. Our portfolio is increasing all the time and once are clients are happy, then we are happy.”
Contact Details
Clash Plumbing & Heating Ltd.,
Tralee,
County Kerry.
Tel: 066 7125639
Fax: 066 7124755
Mobile: 087 65948 39
Email: [email protected]
Web: clashheating.ie
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, February/March 2020, Vol 6 No 1
