Experts in shuttering, tanks, sheds, concrete and milking parlours, THG Contracts have developed an outstanding reputation as the premier farm building specialists in the north west. We spoke to hands-on proprietor Joe O’Donnell to find out more about this industry-leading family-run business, which provides complete bespoke farm building solutions from start to finish.
From their base in Termon on the outskirts of Letterkenny, THG Contracts provide a full range of agricultural building solutions to farmers across counties Donegal, Derry, Tyrone and Leitrim. The father and son team of Danny and Joe O’Donnell boast vast experience in shuttering and concrete works and have the capacity to deliver complete, bespoke buildings in-house, from groundworks through to turning the key in the lock.
THG Contracts’ vast knowledge, versatility and capacity to take on all aspects of the work from breaking ground to sign off has seen their popularity soar in recent years through positive feedback and good old word of mouth. Renowned for quality workmanship and complete customer satisfaction, they have erected no fewer than ten milking parlours in the past 18 months alone and are in big demand right now.
“The main thing farmers are looking for is reliability and honesty,” Joe commented when we interrupted his busy schedule to ask about the key to THG’s success. “All the work is done to a very high standard. We give them a good price at the start and we stick to it. Once you give a price, that’s it. Even if they come to us afterwards and ask for something else to be added we’ll generally work with the farmer and won’t charge any extra apart from the cost of the materials required.
“Communication is very important. If you are upfront with people, talk to them – and actually answer the phone when they are trying to get in touch with you – then they will appreciate that. Be straight with people. If you are under pressure, let them know. Just deal with people and keep them informed – farmers know themselves that there can be hold-ups sometimes with weather, etc.
“Another positive is that we have a very young workforce and you can’t beat the young lads. They are in the yard every morning at 7.15 and ready to go with no hassle about them. Young lads are the way forward if you can find the right ones. On the other side of the equation, Barry – who is another great worker – is 55 and he helps keep the average age up a bit!
“I look after the lads and they look after me. I pay them early every Thursday by bank transfer and they are happy with that. Things have moved on a lot and everything can be done by electronic transfer now. Farmers can pay us that way too, if they want, and it’s very convenient and hassle-free. In fairness, once you do the job right, farmers are great at paying up and settling their bills.”
THG Contracts are clearly doing something right as they have been exceptionally busy recently and have a steady flow of work in front of them. At the time of writing, Joe was working on a five-bay cattle unit in Ballyliffin on the Inishowen Peninsula, while THG were just finishing off jobs in Limavady and Letterkenny.
“We can do anything from milking parlours to meal sheds, silage pits, sheep sheds, pig units, shuttering tanks, etc.,” Joe confirms. “We’ve also done some domestic work – foundations, groundworks, retaining walls, paths and yards. Anything to do with concrete, we can do it.
“About 95% of it is farm work, though, and we’d go back to a lot of the same people. Milk farmers are always spending money on new projects and we have a very good rapport with them. We go out of our way to give them the best service we possibly can.
“Termon is six miles north of Letterkenny and it’s very convenient to go into the North from here, so we do a good bit of work in Derry and Tyrone. You follow the work, really.”
Between them, Danny and Joe O’Donnell have more than 60 years’ experience working with concrete. The genesis of THG Contracts goes back to 1985 when Danny returned home from England and started doing shuttering and concrete work as a sole trader. Joe joined forces with his dad after leaving school in 2001.
“I set up THG Contracts last year when we started doing milking parlours from start to finish,” Joe continues. “I had gone over to Scotland myself in 2015/16 and it wasn’t sustainable as I had a young family here at home, so I came back again and we started to advertise on Done Deal and Facebook. We were only doing concrete work at the time but we started to supply and erect sheds as well. We had a digger and a teleporter as well as all the tools and a lot of farmers were looking for the full package. We were in a position to either do the entire job or whatever else they wanted done. It has really taken off and we’ve had a serious run on milking parlours since early 2020.”
Danny is still very much active in the business on a daily basis, at the age of 71, and loves nothing better than being out on site getting the work done. The father and son are joined by a team of six other full-time workers. “Most of the time, we’d have two different crews out on site,” Joe notes.
THG Contracts is very much the archetypal family business providing a personal touch. Joe says he’d be lost without the support of his parents and his wife, Maria, who plays a key role in keeping everything ticking over. The pair have four children – Órlaith (9), Aimee (7), Emma (5) and Shéa (11 months). As farmers themselves – with 50 cattle and 150 sheep – the O’Donnells have an innate understanding of the kind of service farmers need and expect. “The farmer wants somebody to come in and do everything, with one point of contact and one bill. We are able to provide that,” Joe states.
As well as experience and knowhow, excellent machinery is a prerequisite to getting any job done professionally and efficiently. THG Contracts will not be found wanting in this department. They took possession of a new 13-tonne Hitachi excavator just before Christmas and also purchased a 2016 Doosan 140 last March. A couple of months ago, they bought a JCB TM310s loader, which is dual purpose as it can also be used to feed the cattle at home. Other items in the fleet include a Massey Ferguson 6490 tractor, an 05 13m Manitou Tellporter and a 27-tonne tri-axel low loader.
Supporting local businesses, THG Contracts supply and erect grant-spec sheds from Seamus McMenamin of McMenamin Engineering in Killygordon and non-grant-spec sheds from Fleming Engineering in Johnston and Bertie Cole in Raphoe. “Thankfully, we are getting a lot of repeat business,” Joe concludes. “We are very well organised and we believe in talking to farmers and working with them. Word of mouth is very important but we also find Done Deal to be a useful resource. We advertise on there and freshen the ad up regularly with updated pictures. It’s a good way of reaching farmers and we get a lot of enquiries from those ads.”
THG Contracts,
Prucklish,
Termon,
Letterkenny,
County Donegal.
Tel: 086 4060633
Email: [email protected]
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 10 No 2, March/April 2022
