Industry-leading plumbing and heating engineers PJ Firman & Co. Ltd. celebrated their 50th anniversary in October, 2017. To mark this landmark milestone, we travelled to Latimerstown in County Wexford and met Sheila Roche to find out more about this outstanding, long-serving family business.
Since its inception more than half a century ago, PJ Firman & Co. Ltd. has forged a stellar reputation as one of the premier plumbing and heating contractors in the south east, providing efficient, cost-effective solutions across a wide range of areas including – but by no means limited to – general plumbing and heating; water treatment services; boiler, stove and renewable systems; and solar thermal & PV.
Professional and thorough from start to finish of every job, including design, installation and servicing / maintenance, PJ Firman & Co. Ltd. boasts the expertise and flexibility to work on projects both large and small for commercial and residential clients alike, invariably delivering on time and within budget, irrespective of the complexity of the work.
The business is fully-certified and embraces the latest technology, methods, products and techniques, with a major emphasis on Health & Safety permeating every facet of day-to-day operations, which are carried out by skilled, experienced and highly-qualified engineers, all fully adept at working comfortably in live environments if and when required.
By providing clients with services they can depend upon, this exceptional, third-generation family business has thrived for more than five decades and the signs are extremely encouraging that they will continue to go from strength to strength well into the foreseeable future.
“The business was established in October, 1967 by my father, Peter Firman, who was following in his father, Frank’s footsteps,” says Sheila, reflecting on the genesis of PJ Firman & Co. “Dad started out doing local work and developed the business gradually, building a fantastic team around him, which remains one of the characteristics of the business today.
“We have been very lucky with employees and tradesmen over the years. We’ve always been able to call upon good men, excellent workers and a dedicated team, with a lot of different family members involved through the generations.”
Very much a family business, PJ Firman & Co. Ltd. is today fronted by Peter’s son David (operations director) and daughters Susie and Sheila (directors). “We really do have a wonderful crew around us and we’d be lost without them,” Sheila continues. “Staff have been like family to us and have been instrumental in the success of the business.”
Elaborating on the services provided, Sheila says: “We do all types of general plumbing and heating as well as water treatment services. In this area, we are agents for Avoca, who are Ireland’s No.1 water treatment provider. In solar thermal we are partners with ThermoSolar – Europe’s leading solar panel manufacturer. We also specialise in boiler, stove and aerothermal heat systems and are gas-registered installers – certified by RGII and SEAI to install and service all oil, gas and renewable energy systems.”
For any business associated with the build environment to reach its 50th anniversary is quite an accomplishment – especially considering the volatile nature of the economy and the fact that we have encountered more than one recession during this period. “After 50 years, we are still here for a reason,” Sheila comments. “We are a local business first and foremost and we endeavour at all times to serve local people as best we can, be they contractors or householders.
“We afford all our domestic and commercial clients the same degree of professionalism and customer care, with all work carried out by qualified and trained engineers, who are upskilled on a regular basis as we move with the times that are in it.
“We’ve been fortunate and honoured to work with excellent contractors over the years, who have brought us along with them. As they have grown, we have grown and those partnerships have been very important. We’ve also done a lot of local authority, OPW, school and hotel work and have built up a huge, loyal customer base over the years, always trying to work locally wherever possible. We’re proud to have worked extensively all over Wexford, Dublin and the south east and in order to do this we have been able to call upon excellent suppliers the length and breadth of Ireland.”
PJ Firman & Co. have been keeping the people of Wexford warm for 50 year and Sheila says they are looking forward to the next 50: “You have to know what you are doing and our men are very good. You need to look after your customers. You have to be confident that you will leave the job right and to this end we do all our work to the highest possible standards. We leave it as we would like to be left for ourselves. There’s no other way – all work has to be carried out properly and left right. We endeavour to use the best possible materials at the best possible prices and have established great relationships with suppliers, which we pass on to customers. We’ve built up unrivalled expertise over the years and provide a local, reliable, professional and friendly service.
“You have to offer a full range of services,” Sheila concludes. “We try to design the best system possible to suit the client’s needs and we make ourselves available around the clock to advise people and to share the expertise that we have acquired over the past 50 years. As it says on our vans, “We leave No Tap Unturned.”
PJ Firman & Co. Ltd.,
Latimerstown,
Wexford,
Y35 WC93
Tel: 053 9143018
Email: [email protected]
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, January 2018, Vol 4 No 1
