Established in 2006, Ray Byrne Construction Ltd is a leading provider of farm and industrial buildings, concrete walls and floors in the South-East. Managing director Ray Byrne explains more.
Based in Kildavin, which straddles the Carlow-Wexford border, the CE-certified company is a one-stop shop for all your farm building requirements. It also specialises in the fabrication and erection of structural steel for the industrial sector, and carries out concrete works, including walls and floors.
“We pride ourselves on our excellent product and service from start to finish,” Ray says.
“We offer a wide range of farm and industrial buildings, all of which are manufactured to the highest standard. We have a growing customer-base primarily in Carlow, Wicklow and Wexford, and have earned a reputation for quality, efficiency and value-for-money. We also place a strong emphasis on Health & Safety.”
Ray, who employs a small but highly-skilled team of steel erectors and fabricators, runs a modern workshop on the family farm which houses everything from bandsaws to welding equipment. He also operates a number of cherry pickers, excavators and telehandlers on site. An engineer by profession, he managed Roadstone quarries in Athlone, Galway and Waterford before deciding to go out on his own.
“Roadstone were a great company to work for, but I’m a very ‘hands-on’ type of person and always wanted to work for myself,” he explains.
“I started doing concrete work before branching into farm buildings. The farm buildings grant scheme had just started and this led to a big demand for slatted units, milking parlours, cubicle sheds and dry stores. We’ve acquired a wealth of experience in constructing farm buildings and have built in the region of 30 milking parlours at this stage.
“When we first started, most of the enquiries were from beef farmers. But since the milk quotas were lifted in 2015, the dairy farmer has become our biggest customer. Agriculture accounts for 70% of our structural steel work with the industrial sector accounting for the remaining 30%. We’ve done concrete works for Broughan Trailers in Tullow and for the Redmond Group, which owns the Amber Spring Hotel and the Ashdown Park Hotel in Gorey.
“With house building on the rise again, the demand for our concrete services is on the increase. All our work is secured through word of month and recommendations. Repeat business has been key to our success.”
Ray Byrne Construction can fabricate and erect any size of building to your design, or assist you in designing it to suit your needs. If you prefer to erect your own shed, the company can cut and supply fabricated steel and accessories to order. Timbers, gutters and fixings are also supplied and fitted. In addition, the company can carry out welding and machinery repairs in its workshop.
Only the very best products go into making a Ray Byrne Construction building. The cladding and steel purlins are supplied by Duggan Steel, while the steel comes from McDonald Steel in Kilcloran, Co. Wexford. Casey Enterprises in Gorey supply the concrete, while Ray buys his nuts and bolts from Toolfast in Dublin, paints and powder coatings from Castle Paints in Tullamore and welding products from BMC Equipment & Tools in Enfield, Co. Meath.
Ray Byrne Construction is a certified supplier of CE marked structural steel to the requirements of EN 1090 up to and including Execution Class 2 (EXC2) which covers the fabrication of all farm buildings and structural steel used in general construction. Since July 2014, under the Construction Products Regulations (CPR), it has been a legal requirement that fabricated structural steelwork delivered to construction sites must be CE certified.
“Anyone who isn’t CE certified is breaking the law. A farmer will not qualify for a grant from the Department of Agriculture if their steel supplier isn’t CE marked,” he stresses.
Ray is a member of Irish Steel (Irish Association of Steel Fabricators) which was set up by Brendan McNamara and Pat Enright three years ago with the aim of promoting standards within the steel industry and sharing information about CE marking. Based in Portlaoise, the organisation now has 750 members who are certified and have standards in place.
Committed to helping fabricators with any difficulties that they may have, Irish Steel offers guidance, compliance and certification for fabricators and steel-related products. Through its partners, Irish Steel offers weld testing, weld inspection, weld training, load testing and reporting, paint testing and testing to include intumescent, safety training that covers every aspect of engineering health & safety, insurance / engineering company audits, Tekla training and compliance. The body strives to make compliance easy and understandable, and a very worthwhile task.
Ray and his staff are committed to providing a top-quality product and service at the most competitive price. All of their buildings are solid, secure, attractive in appearance and are built to last a lifetime.
The affable Carlow man concludes by saying: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank our customers for their continued support. We won’t be beaten on quality, service, reliability or price.”
Ray Byrne Construction Ltd
Kildavin,
Co. Carlow.
Telephone: 087 6128789
First published in Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 7 No 7, December 2019/January 2020
