Features

Setting the standard in building services

7 Feb , 2018  

North West Mechanical Services began trading in 1999 and since then (NWMS) has grown into one of the leading plumbing, heating and mechanical services companies in the North West of Ireland.

After 18 years of dedicated service to the plumbing, HVAC and process piping industry, NWMS has earned a reputation for engineering excellence thanks to its expertise in a variety of building services environments. Specialising in process piping and gas installations, plumbing, heating, ventilation, insulation, fabrication and welding, and planned and preventative maintenance, the company has established a wide client base and retains a number of high-profile industry contracts. This is a tribute to the service delivered by its proficient, dedicated and highly-skilled team.

With 30 staff on its books and up to 30 more employed on a sub-contract basis, the company has come a long way since lifelong friends Gerry Campbell and Gary Hegarty set it up at the end of the last millennium. Gerry recalls: “We’re both plumbing and heating engineers who served our apprenticeships together and worked for the same company before deciding to start a business.

“Our first client was Seagate Technology, who had a plant at Dowland Road, Limavady where they manufactured substrates for the IT Industry, to this day NWMS have remained resident contractors at Seagate’s Springtown Plant in Derry.

“We had also won a routine maintenance contract for the Western Education & Library Board in those early days and by opening a small fabrication workshop the company were able to progress further when we branched into the process pipework and metal fabrication sector. From here NWMS grew steadily in the years that followed as staff and turnover continued to increase.”

Offering complete piping installations, plumbing, fabrication and full gas installation and maintenance, NWMS has an impressive portfolio of clients in these fields of industry. Some of the materials it regularly uses for process piping and gas installations include carbon steel pipe, mild steel pipe, stainless steel pipe, ultra-high purity stainless steel, copper, aluminium, PVC, CPVC, polypropylene, PVDF and ABS, while also providing cleanroom orbital welding and IR Fusion.

NWMS has installed major plumbing and HVAC systems to various industries, working closely with consultants and environmental engineers to meet the high specifications and needs of clients. The company’s fabricators and welders are highly experienced and have played a vital role in every project it has carried out. NWMS’s ability to design and fabricate pipework off-site has enabled it to meet the demands of clients with a safe, effective product being delivered on time and within budget.

The company has also built a reputation of reliability when it comes to planned and preventative maintenance, and has harnessed good working relationships with clients in both the public and private sectors thanks to the confidence it has instilled in them.

A British Small Business Champion in 2008, NWMS recently completed a major project for Seagate Technology in Springtown. It was responsible for all aspects of the job, including full project management, Health & Safety, coordination of all sub-contractors, installation of stainless steel Solvent Exhaust System, including ancillary ERG equipment, full testing / commissioning and provision of operating and maintenance manual c/w As Built Drawings

One of the most prestigious projects NWMS has completed in the last two years was the refurbishment of the Bishop’s Gate Hotel in Derry. Built in 1899, this grade B1 listed Edwardian-style building underwent extensive restoration to become the high-end boutique hotel it is today. The new hotel consists of 30 luxury en suite rooms, the ‘Wig & Gown’ champagne bar and restaurant, as well as a dedicated function and wedding ballroom.

The company has picked up some very good clients who we still work for along the way. One of those was Jones Engineering in Dublin who opened a lot of doors for us south of the border. We had 44 men working for them on the Intel site in Leixlip, Co. Kildare in 2013 and this led to us securing further work at the Bristol Myers Squibb and Microsoft facilities in Dublin.

Other notable projects recently completed by the company include:

– New MacMillan Health and Wellbeing Centre located within Altnagelvin Hospital.

– North West Regional College Strand Road Boiler House Fit Out.

– Endoscopy Unit fit outs in various Health trust Hospitals throughout Northern Ireland.

We have also just been awarded the Mechanical contract for the Primark Extension in Belfast.

North West Mechanical Services have recently relocated from Springtown in Derry to a new head office with integral workshop, fabrication and storage facilities on the nearby Buncrana Road comprising of 2,500 sq ft office space and 7,000 sq ft of fabrication workshop space and rear yard store and laydown facilities, the premises is strategically located with easy access and good transport links to the Republic of Ireland and the rest of the UK.

In addition, NWMS has its own in-house training and conference suite with the latest IT and presentation software. Having invested heavily in its new facility, the company is well-placed as a leading building services provider in the North West of Ireland.

Gerry concludes by thanking his clients for their loyalty and support, and his staff, who he refers to as the ‘backbone of the business’.

“We are fortunate to have extremely dedicated staff with a positive attitude, some of who have been with us since the beginning. Our team of Project Managers, Quantity surveyors, Fabricators, Plumbing & Heating Engineers, Welders and Office Staff carry out first-class work. I can’t praise them enough,” he says.

As NWMS approaches two decades in the construction industry, it is continuously looking for new ways of improving the already high-quality services and products that it provides to its leading industry clients and customers.

North West Mechanical Services (NWMS)

Unit 3,

Elagh Business Park,

Buncrana Road,

Derry

BT48 8QF

Telephone: +44 (0)28 71279008

Email: [email protected]

Web: www.nwms.org

Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, November 2017, Vol 3 No 10