Coming up on 10 years in business, Conal’s Tree Services Ltd has gone from strength to strength to become the premier tree surgery and tree maintenance company in Ireland. Conal Thomas, the man behind it all, filled us in on his business and the high standards that it has set.
Set up in 2007 by Donegal man Conal Thomas, Conal’s Tree Services Ltd’ rise to success has been rapid, having doubled their employment each year since its inception. The company continues to win prestigious contracts each year from leading infrastructure businesses in Ireland. One of the longest standing of which is with ESB networks.
Conal started the company from his adopted home in Mallow, Co. Cork, before expanding its headquarters towards the capital in Kiltiernan, Co Dublin.
“We started with six staff back in 2007 and now we have 40 working here. It is truly a family business; my son, Stephen, works with one the crews as well as moving steadily into other roles and my daughter, Julie, helps me in the cork office. My wife Majella is a director and Shelley, my youngest daughter, is going to be starting with me this summer as well.” said Conal, who made the move down south from his native Donegal town 33 years ago.
“The main contract we have had since day one is with ESB Networks, ESB Power Generation, we also have a long standing contract with the Dublin Council for the work we do at Phoenix Park. Most recently we are entering into a new contract with South Dublin County Council”.
“We have invested heavily in more up to date machinery down through the years. This year, as well as investing in such machinery, we are looking into new technologies that will help us to stay at the cutting edge of our business. I think this ability to look to the future is part of the reason why our company has had such success”
Conal’s attention to detail and devotion to the safety of his staff and those for whom they are working is evident. Conal’s Tree Services Ltd has been awarded the highest available safety accreditations from ‘Safe T Cert’ (The Safety Management Accreditation System for the Construction Industry) year after year.
“ I believe Safe T Cert is a great system for ensuring the health, safety and welfare of my employees and others who maybe effected by our work. The system involves a comprehensive office and site audit which covers all the basis to ensure we comply with all the relative legislation”.
Since Conal started working in the Tree Care industry he has always found health and safety to be paramount. He spent seven years as a representitive for Asplundh Tree Services and he has carried that experience with him into the work he does now.
The nature of the work demands this attention to safety. “The work we do for ESB Networks sees us clear trees and branches away from overhead power lines, removing dangerous trees around their buildings and other infrastructure” he explained.
“Health and Safety is our number one priority here and we constantly check for it on site through site audits. We also have Jo and my daughter Julie who ensure that our paper work is kept to the high standards that our clients have come to expect from us. All the company’s activities are overseen by my Operations Manager, Jamie Moran, who has been with me since the beginning. He has stood by me through all the growing pains and his dedication to safety was highlighted back in 2013 when he was awarded a commendation for safety rep of the year by the National Irish Safety Organisation.” Conal notes that “with the right people in the right place your business will always grow and develop in the desired direction”.
“We were the first tree services company in history to be awarded Safe T Cert, where we started out with a C grading. We then went on to make Safe T Cert records as the first company to be award an A grade within 2 years of auditing. This is a massive achievement for the company and all my staff”.
“ESB started a safety test three years ago and they audited us and we have been achieving similar results on their system, which is also a good indicator that all our hard work is paying off”
Stats like those give you an indication of the standards that Conal’s Tree Services Ltd set when it comes to their Health and Safety procedures.
Conal’s staff members are carefully selected and with over 30 plant vehicles from hoists to tippers, trucks to stump grinders, specialist tractors to forestry machinery the company has the equipment at their disposal to handle all types of tree care projects.
“All of our training courses are the highest standard all staff hold NPTC city and guilds, Lantra and FETAC awards.” said Conal.
“Two of our employees were put back into college one for a degree in health and safety management which he is hoping to continue into a masters qualification. Mark Moran is well into a diploma in environmental management and is leading the way for our company in his new found role as environmental officer. We have always found that the way we get the best out of our employees is to treat them as members of the management team.”
The training end of the business is run out of the company headquarters in Kilternan and the training school operates all year round under the guidance and expert tuition Paul Spooner (Safety Officer). Over the years the school has trained many students in all aspects of forestry and tree surgery activities from safe use of chainsaws, tree climbing and aerial rescue techiques, to the use of woodchippers and MEWP’s.
Last year saw the company run their annual safety event at the Citywest Hotel Conference & Event Centre, with the chief objective being to obtain fresh safety ideas from its staff, introduce new procedures and carry out refresher training.
This same event is scheduled again for 2016 – a year which Conal is excited for whats to come. A new year brings new oportunities for an ever growing business like Conal’s Tree Services Ltd.
“Business is good at the moment” although he says the activities on site “slow down when the weather conditions are as tough as they have been lately. Land all over the country is still heavily saturated after weeks of continuous rain that we have had” he said.
“February and March will hopefully bring better weather and allow us to get back to full production again and we’re looking at investing in new machinery and few different things, so we’ll definitely have our hands full”
So what has been the secret to success for Conal?
He puts it largely down to the way he and his employees have looked after the customers down through the years, earning a glowing reputation for the company whilst gaining repeat business at the same time.
“When we start a project we always endevour to ensure that our customers are satisfied and our staff all arrive home to their families safe” he said.
“The way we see it, we’re only as good as our last job. People see our vehicles and associate them with our overall presentation as a company and our hard working and professional staff. Conal’s Tree Services Ltd is associated with a safety culture that we promote on all our sites and the knowledge that your trees needs are being managed by a family run business. This is what makes us a cut above the rest”
There’s a ‘no project we won’t under take’ policy with this company, so whether it’s tree surveys and detailed inspection, tree pruning, dangerous tree removal, hedge maintenance, training services or a 24hr emergency service that you require, look no further than Conal’s Tree Services Ltd.
Conal’s Tree Services Ltd
Address: Sancta Maria,
Enniskerry Road, Kiltiernan,
County Dublin (HQ)
Second office: 10.2 Market
Square, Mallow, Co Cork
Tel: 0818 288 100
Mob: 087 220 4647
Web: www.conalstreeservices.ie
E-mail: [email protected]
Taken from Irish Tractor & Agri magazine Vol 4 No 2, February 2016
