Mulcahy Steel Ltd in Mallow, Co Cork has been enjoying another busy summer and ensuring that their clients’ demand is continually met. Irish Tractor & Agri heard more from owner John Mulcahy recently about the company which is celebrating 10 years in business in 2018.
Based in Shanakill, Curraglass, Mallow, Co Cork, Mulcahy Steel Ltd are renowned specialists in the fabrication and fitting of steel buildings and steel work.
Having come from a farming background, its owner John Mulcahy saw a niche in the market 10 years ago and was confident enough he had the experience to make the venture a success.
His feeling was (and still is) that offering the complete package to farmers is what separates them from other competitors out there and the ability to deliver on projects is what has seen the company grow from strength to strength over the past decade.
John recently took some time from his hectic summer schedule to explain to Irish Tractor & Agri what his business is all about.
“The company’s established since 2008 and we’ve 30 staff,” John outlined. “We do a turnkey job, specialising in agricultural buildings. We do designs and drawings, all the tile setting out and construction of all slatted sheds and fabrication of all the buildings. We do all the ground works as well – from the base up.”
Underpasses, silage pits and silage walls can all be added to the list of services provided by Mulcahy Steel Ltd as well, along with shuttering tanks and excavation work.
At the moment, the firm is as busy as it has ever been with a €2.1million project in Dungarvan, Co Waterford currently on-going, along with several other jobs.
“We started the job in Dungarvan in the middle of April and it will be finished by February,” said John.
“Business at the moment is good. The first five months of this year were challenging with the weather but the last three months have been exceptional.
“Farmers really only want you in there yard from April 1st to November 1st, so there’s a timescale there and it can be challenging.”
Nonetheless, it seems the challenge has been met year in, year out by the people at Mulcahy Steel Ltd since the company’s inception.
Casting his mind back to 2008, John recalls that he was operating on a much smaller level and still getting the results that he wanted in order for his business to grow.
They were modest beginnings but now Mulcahy Steel Ltd has 11 vans on the road and is working throughout a large portion of the Munster region.
“I was in a smaller scale for the first couple of years, but I didn’t find it too bad,” he stated plainly.
“To be honest about it, we were just starting to build at that stage and now we have got 11 excavators here, as well as 10 dumpers and 11 vans on the road.”
What has been the secret to such impressive and rapid success?
For John, it has come down to ensuring his clients the entire package when it comes to a project, as well as taking great care on the pricing end.
“I don’t leave any grey areas when it comes to the cost of a job,” he said. “You don’t have any surprises at the end of a job with us and we look after every single thing down to the gates. I take charge of the job to its entirety.”
Those are the words any farmer looking to build undoubtedly loves to hear and, being a farmer himself, John should know.
His experience in both farming and construction from a young age has provided him with the perfect ingredients to develop his business into a success.
“I’m farming at home myself and was brought up on a dairy farm,” he explained. “I’m 33 years old now and while I always had a background in dairy farming, I’ve always had a construction background as well.
“I started fabricating and welding work on sheds in 2007 and in 2010 we started to get into construction work in sheds.”
The rest is history, as one would say.
It wouldn’t take long before John and Co branched out and broadened their horizons into different areas of agricultural building work…
“We do an awful lot of piggery work as well,” he said. “We did a 7,000 square metre one in 2015 and with every job we look after it to the very last detail and we also look after any size job.”
The rapid rise down in Shanakill has been impressive and John is confident that his firm is up there with the best when it comes to fabrication and fitting of agri steel buildings.
What’s also impressive is the Mulcahy machinery fleet which is seemingly growing year on year now.
“We’re not looking at hiring machinery here,” said John. “I’ve 11 excavators, four Fendt tractors, three dump trailers, one 25-tonne dumper, six on site dumpers, five construction loaders and three genie lifts as well.
“We have all the machinery that’s needed for a job, so the client doesn’t have to go looking elsewhere.”
The trend suggests continued growth going forward at Mulcahy Steel Ltd and who could doubt John Mulcahy and his team given their form thus far?
Mulcahy Steel Ltd
Shanakill,
Curraglass,
Mallow,
Co Cork
Mob: 086-3527896
E-mail: [email protected]
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 6 No 6, September/October 2018
