Established in 2000 by brothers Damien, Larry and Peter Murphy, Murform Structures Ltd. is one of Ireland’s premier formwork contractors, consistently delivering projects to exact specifications. We dropped into their County Wexford office and caught up with director Larry Murphy to find out more about this exceptional operation as well as their UK operation, Murform Ltd., and innovative sister company, G-Frame Structures Ltd, which installs timber and
hybrid structures.
Specialising in formwork, rebar and concrete work across Ireland and the UK, Murform Structures delivers projects on time, to budget and to the highest-possible standards. Boasting the experience and resources required to undertake formwork projects of any size or nature, Murform has delivered outstanding results for a select group of main contractors including Lagan Construction, Graham Construction, WN Developments, Roadbridge Ltd., Allen & Smyth Construction, Cleary & Doyle, SIAC Construction, John Fleming Group, Mythen Bros, Luddon Construction, Morrison Construction, PJ Careys etc.
The scope of work includes bridge structures, water treatment plants, water towers and reservoirs, biowaste processing plants and waste transfer stations, concrete frame buildings, wind farm FRC works, pharmaceutical plants, coastal protection and marine works, schools and shopping units and hybrid frame buildings, with Health & Safety a primary consideration throughout the course of all projects.
Recently launched, G-Frame Structures Ltd. specialises in the design, supply and installation of engineered timber and hybrid structures, offering a direct route to a complete hybrid package working with a palette that includes Cross Laminated Timber, Glulam and Laminated Veneered Lumber. They provide sustainable solutions across the full range of building types including social and private residential, education, public access and workspace.
From its offices in Bedfordshire, England and West Lothian, Scotland, Murform Ltd. has been serving the UK market since 2007, at which point a fourth brother, Lee Murphy, came on board. Director, Larry, who has over three decades’ experience of formwork, shuttering, steel frames and concrete, recalls:
“We started off quite small and built it up gradually. As our clients grew, we grew alongside them. We’d had an inkling in ’07 that things weren’t great on the home economy and that was when we set up operations in the UK. The residential work had dried up at home and we didn’t want to get caught with all our eggs in one basket.”
Indeed, it was only last year that Murform recommenced working in Ireland, contracted by Roadbridge to work on the N17 / N18 Gort to Tuam PPP Project, which involves the construction of 57kms of new motorway and 4kms of dual carriageway between Tuam and Gort in County Galway. This project is being completed by the Direct Route Consortium, which is made up of Roadbridge, Sisk, Lagan and Strabag. Roadbridge have retained Murform Structures to carry out the FRC works to 13 bridge structures in the north section of the project. This comprises seven overbridges, two underbridges, two riverbridges, one railwaybridge and one pedestrian footbridge. Works commenced on June 22nd, 2015 and are currently ongoing.
“We had previously completed eight bridges for Roadbridge on the Fermoy – Mitchelstown Bypass in County Cork and 28 between Kilcullen and Carlow and found that they were an excellent company to work for, so that helped us make our decision to come back and work at home again,” says Larry.
Murform are also doing the foundations for Facebook’s spectacular new data centre in Clonee, County Meath. The Clonee Data Centre, which is being built on a 220-acre site, will be run on 100% renewable energy and will be naturally cooled by air from outside – with a special filtration system used to remove salt from the air due to its proximity to the Irish Sea. Some 2,000 people will be employed during the different construction phases and the facility will open in 2018.
At any given time, Murform is generally active on up to twelve projects all over the UK – from wind farms in Scotland to bridges in Devon. Gainful employment is generated for up to 80 people in Ireland and an additional 200 in the UK.
Since its inception, quality had been a prerequisite at Murform Structures Ltd. Every programme is delivered on time and to the highest possible standards. The directors take a personal involvement in every project to ensure that standards remain as high as possible:
“The four of us meet on a weekly basis and run through all the projects that are going on and make sure that everything is as it should be. You surround yourself with the right men to ensure that you are adhering to the levels of quality that are required in this sector.”
A full range of projects is catered for, from residential to superstructures. “We’re doing a lot of basements in the UK at the moment for one-off houses, where people are demolishing and building from scratch and we come in as a subcontractor for the groundworks contractor to put in the substructure.
“We do small and large residential, schools and colleges, shopping centres such as the Bridgewater Shopping Centre in Arklow (where Murform delivered ground beams, pads, shear walls, stair cores and floor slab), bridges, water treatment plants, warehouses etc.”
Going forward, the future looks bright for this outstanding family-owned and –managed business. “We are expanding every year,” Larry confirms.
“There is still further room for growth. We have enlisted very capable and valuable staff and they can take more responsibility in the future. Everyone here is full trained and experienced in all the latest procedures and systems as well as all aspects of Health & Safety.
“I’m hopeful that Murform Structures, Murform Ltd. and G-Frame Structures, which is overseen by Lee, will be able to expand in the coming years and the signs are very encouraging for all companies.”
Murform Structures Ltd.,
Growtown,
Barntown,
County Wexford
Tel: 053 9134621
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.murform.ie
Murform Ltd. / G-Frame Structures Ltd.
Unit B2,
Beckerings Business Park,
Beckerings Park Estate,
Lidlington,
Bedfordshire MK43 0RD
Tel: (+44) 01525 288015
Email: [email protected] / [email protected]
Web: www.murform.co.uk / www.g-frame.co.uk
Scotland office:
5b Firth Road,
Houstoun Industrial Estate,
Livingston,
West Lothian EH54 5DJ
Tel: (+44) 01506 536363
Taken from Building Ireland Magazine, July 2016, Vol 2 No 3
