Emerald Engineering has been leading the way in supply and erection of farm buildings from its base in Dunmanway, Co Cork for over 30 years. Adrian O’Donavan put the business on a new path after taking over operations and he spoke to Irish Tractor & Agri recently to explain what they’re all about.
Family businesses often turn out to be the best ones and you can add Emerald Engineering to the long list of examples.
Founded some 40 years ago by Cork man Pat O’Donovan, the company has grown from strength to strength down through the decades, particularly in the most recent one after having ushered in so many new different services for their clientele.
Adrian O’Donovan (Pat’s son) took over the running of the business in 2005 and put the company on a whole new path.
From solely concentrating on farm buildings, the Adrian and Co added industrial buildings and structural steel to the mix and with that Emerald Engineering was born.
“The company is established as Emerald Engineering since 2005,” Adrian explained. “Before that it was Emerald Farm Building, which was found by my father Pat O’Donovan in 1978.
“We have four staff working here at the minute and that would usually go up to six in the summer time. My father also works with us part time.”
The origins of Emerald Engineering date back to Pat O’Donovan’s decision to go out on his own back in ‘78 and set-up a company which concentrated solely on the agri sector.
Trading as Emerald Farm Buildings Ltd, the only concentration back then for the business was on the supply and erection of farm buildings.
Around 2003, the next generation began to emerge and joined the business and Emerald Engineering was established. While still supplying and erecting farm buildings all over the south of Cork, the business expanded its offering to include steel fabrication of Industrial Buildings, Structural Steel, Gates, Wrought Iron Gates, Railings, Balconies, Stairs, etc.
With over 30 years of experience, Emerald Engineering can oversee the Design, Fabrication, Delivery and Erection of all Steel and Cladding works.
“We supply only or supply and erect farm buildings, industrial buildings, gates and railings, repair gutters and modify structural steel,” said Adrian.
“When my father founded the company in 1978 it mainly focussed on hay barns and slatted houses. I started Emerald Engineering in 2005 and that’s when we made the transition over to structural steel and industrial buildings. We have since attained Execution Class (EXC) Class 2 Certification so we can now supply certified steel that adheres to building regulations.”
Adrian had been involved in his father’s business since the age of 16, working during the summer time during secondary school and college, and is now running the company his father founded.
“I served my time in a structural steel company in Cork City from 1997 to 2001, then I was in Australia for two years working in the same field before I came back,” explains Adrian.
A couple of years into the new takeover, things took a turn for the worst when the economic downturn hit and, as a knock-on effect, saw much of Emerald Engineering’s business slow down considerably.
Thankfully, things have turned around since for the company and Adrian and his staff are currently concentrating on a handful of projects, including two in Cork city.
“Business at the minute is growing,” he said. “The downturn hit us like a sledge hammer and in the upturn we’ve been growing, working on different projects.
“We don’t really go outside the Cork area with our work. It’s mostly south and west Cork that we cover here. Right now we’re doing work on two structural steel skeletons in derelict buildings in Cork city at the moment and on top of that we’d have a few farm buildings in the area that we’re concentrating on as well.”
Another important aspect of the company to point out is how much they rely on repeat business from their clients.
More than half of Emerald Engineering’s trade tends to come from the same clients, making it all the more imperative that Adrian and Co get the job done right first time round.
“About 60 per cent of our business here would be repeat business. It’s probably little bit more than that actually,” he outlined.
“Some of the clients that we have could have been with us from as far back as the early 80s when my father was running the company. To have him still involved is great because of the amount of experience he’s gained in this business.”
Still having clients that date back more than 30 years is always a good thing for any business, but what’s the secret? Why do Emerald Engineering’s clients choose them first ahead of other competitors?
“Because we provide a good service for them and they know that we’ll get the job done right for them. I’ve some customers with six or seven sheds,” said Adrian.
“Like I said, we do the job right and safety is something that we really atone to here as well.”
Now well into a new year, Adrian is hoping that 2017 will see an improvement on the previous year as Emerald Engineering looks to continue to grow for the future.
“Now that we have attained Execution Class (EXC) Class 2 Certification, we can fabricate grant work for building and structural steel to a high standard that adheres to building regulations. I hope to get busier and that things continue to get busier over the next couple of months,” he stated.
“There are grants coming in now for farm buildings as well, so there’s that and the summer months will be busier as well.”
Emerald Engineering can also supply kit sheds to a high standard at reasonable prices in either galvanised of painted finishes.
Emerald Engineering
Address: Kilbarry,
Dunmanway, Co Cork P47 YR77
Phone: +353 (0)23 885 5943
Mobile: +353(0)86 066 8628
Email: [email protected]
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 5 No 2, March 2017
