For more than three decades, Trevor Nuzum Construction & Plant Hire have been delivering unrivalled farm building solutions from their Arklow base. We visited the Garden County and caught up with the eponymous founder / proprietor to get an insight into this exceptional family operation which specialises in concrete works, demolition, site development and a lot more besides.

Hailing from a strong agricultural background himself, Trevor Nuzum knows exactly what farmers want from their farm buildings. This is one of the many reasons why his business – Trevor Nuzum Construction & Plant Hire – has earned an unrivalled reputation across County Wicklow and beyond for the construction of a wide range of agri buildings to the very highest standards.

Dealing with everything from groundworks and site development through to concrete works, Nuzum Construction is synonymous with high-quality, cost-effective, no-nonsense milking parlours, cubicle sheds, slated storage tanks, dung steads, retaining walls, laneways, etc., etc. With their own vast fleet of specialist machinery on hand, Trevor and his son David can provide all services in-house, while a keen plant hire service is also offered.

“I started this company in 1990,” reflects Trevor, who has worked in construction and plant hire since 1986. “We were dairy farmers here in Arklow, close to the Wexford border, and I attended Gurteen Agricultural College. I’ve worked in farming and agriculture all my life. I did some agri contracting, cutting silage for years, and also hedge cutting.

“My father started up Farm Services – the farm machinery dealership – in 1968, and that business is still trading today. So I grew up with an interest in agricultural and machinery and I’ve never lost that.”

Complying with all Construction Plant Competence Scheme (CPCS) standards, Trevor Nuzum Construction & Plant Hire is owned and operated by Trevor alongside his son, David. With their stunning fleet of modern machinery and a team of skilled, experienced, motivated and certified personnel (all staff have Safe Pass training and operate to the highest levels of Health & Safety), they deliver high-quality finished products, on time and within budget.

Placing a major emphasis on communication and transparency, Trevor and David work hand in hand with their clients through every project, forging strong working relationships and consistently achieving maximum levels of customer satisfaction, which in turn generate a steady flow of repeat custom plus positive referrals through word of mouth.

Without the ongoing trust and support of the farming community, Trevor Nuzum Construction & Plant Hire would struggle to thrive as a viable commercial entity. “A lot of our work is in agriculture but we do some commercial work, too,” the personable Wicklow man confirms. “It’s breaks up about 75:25. We’ve built some passive houses as well.

“Many dairy farmers are expanding their enterprises following the lifting of the quotas and that has generated quite a bit of work for us – tanks, cubicle sheds, new milking parlours, etc. A lot of the older milking parlours are past their sell-by date and need to be replaced.”

In short, Trevor Nuzum Construction & Plant Hire can lend their hand to any agricultural building, covering a catchment area that predominantly runs along the east coast, taking in North Wexford, East Wicklow, South Dublin and parts of Carlow.

Word of mouth is everything. “100% of our work comes from one farmer talking to another,” Trevor continues. “We do very little advertising, apart from a small bit of social media. We try to do our best and give a good service and leave behind a good product. We get in, get out and go about our business. Farms are like small businesses now. The days of hanging around a farm for days on end, taking your time and calling in for dinner and a chat, are over. They want you to get the job done as quickly as possible and we understand that.

“They want to know how long it’s going to take and how much it’s going to cost. We have a good reputation for getting in and getting the job done quickly with no messing.”

Having the expertise, manpower and machinery to do so offers Trevor Nuzum Construction & Plant Hire a keen competitive advantage: “We have an excellent fleet of fresh, new machinery, with a lot of investment carried out over the past three-four years,” says Trevor. “We have excavators from 3.5 tonne to 24 tonne – one 3.5 tonne, one 6 tonne, one 9 tonne and two 24 tonnes, a lot of Bobcats, dump trucks, bulldozers, etc.

“There’s huge investment going into the fleet all the time. People don’t want you coming in with old machinery that’s going to break down, so it pays off in the long term. We operate fresh equipment and we look after it to ensure that our service is totally reliable.

“We have four men working full-time and we’ve kept that steady over the past three-four years. There’s plenty of work for us all year around at the moment, thankfully.”

All the signs are very encouraging that 2018 will be another successful year. “We’ve always got two or three months of work ahead of us, which is good. There are some big projects on the horizon – a few big milking parlours – and to be honest we have never been idle or slack.”

The key to the business’ enduring popularity? “When I say I’m going to come to do a job, we’ll agree a date and time and I’ll make it happen. People appreciate when you keep your word. And we get in and out and won’t be in anybody’s way.”

Experience is also vital. “As I’m from farming myself, I have a good knowledge of it,” says Trevor. “Because I milked cows myself, I have a few ideas and know how to make things easier for the farmer. I’d always advise them to build parlours with an eye to the future, planning ahead and leaving room for possible expansion – to build it right so that it can be added on to if needs be.

“We make life as easy as possible for the customer. We take the job right through from design to groundworks to the finished job and we work with the guys who do the drawing, the planners, the shed builders, etc.”

Trevor is optimistic that further growth could be on the horizon: “We have already expanded and increased our fleet and we’d often have two teams out working on two jobs at once, so it is getting bigger,” he concludes. “My son David is here working alongside me for the past five years and we work together and provide a personal touch.

“One of us will be there on site directly involved on every job and we are approachable and also have a good team of guys working for us. It’s a happy team and we work well together and we are all bosses in our own way. We discuss the job and work together to get the best solution for the customer. Everybody has an input and there’s never any shouting and roaring. Good teamwork is important and it always results in a good product and satisfied customers.”

Trevor Nuzum Construction & Plant Hire,

Ballintombay,

Arklow,

County Wicklow.

Tel: 0402 24737

Mobile: 087 2583289

Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

Facebook: www.facebook.com/pg/nuzumhire

Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 6 No 2, March/April 2018

Construction, Plant Hire, Trevor Nuzum