Based Hollypark Avenue, Blackrock, Co Dublin, Northstone Construction Limited holds a track for successfully completing projects to the highest specification along with a reputation for providing clients with high quality finishes. Building Ireland spoke with Managing Director Paul Brogan to find out all about this thriving construction venture – from its origins to the state of business today.
Business has been solid as of late at Northstone Construction Ltd and the plan for company owner and founder Paul Brogan is to try and keep things that way right through to 2023.
Established as a limited company five years ago, the business employs 34 staff from its base in Hollypark Studio, The Old Courtyard, Holly Park Ave, Blackrock, Co Dublin and provides general contracting work for its clients.
Past years have seen the company specialising in high end residential projects, while more recent times have seen it establishing itself with projects in the healthcare sector.
Building Ireland touched base with Managing Director Paul Brogan recently to learn more about the ins and outs of his company and the projects it has on-going at the moment.
“We’re general contractors based in Dublin and for years we’d have specialised in residential projects which would be high end finish,” Paul outlined.
“We’ve done some commercial projects in the past, such as renovation works on schools, but more recently we’ve established ourselves in healthcare projects.
“We have been working with ORPEA Ireland with healthcare projects and, right now, we’re on a project at Kilminchy Lodge Nursing Home in Portlaoise building and renovating 76 no new bedrooms. And more recently with ORPEA we have successfully tendered for a 151 bed Nursing Home in Portmarnock north Co Dublin, Due for completion March 2024.”
For Paul, Northstone Construction Ltd stands apart from its competitors because of the quality of its workmanship.
The company continues to invest heavily in training and development with all personnel participating in continuous learning and educational programs to ensure that its technical and management teams are fully up to speed on all the latest developments in the construction industry.
Over the years, it has delivered an array of projects from small renovations to large commercial developments.
A native of Donegal, Paul himself has over 20 years’ experience in the construction industry and now heads up a general contracting business which has managed to thrive – even in the midst of a global pandemic.
“My background would’ve been that I studied Construction Studies & Project Management in the Limerick Institute of Technology as it was known then back in the late 90’s, and then after that I went to work for various companies,” said the MD.
“I went out on my own then and I’ve been pretty much self-employed for the last 15 years. It was difficult enough getting off the ground but, by that stage, I’d a lot of contacts built up in a lot of places I’d worked previously.
“It takes time to establish yourself and, from 2011 onwards, things were starting to ramp up again and you were able to make the contacts to get going.”
As for business at the moment, Northstone Construction Ltd’s Managing Director has no complaints.
The Covid-19 pandemic, and the government lockdowns which followed, in order to try and combat the spread of the virus, effected construction businesses all over Ireland and Northstone also felt the impact.
However, as Paul himself explained, the past year has been very busy for his venture.
“The past 12 months have been quite good and when we came out of the lockdown, we moved straight on to the Kilminchy Lodge project,” he said.
“I’m originally a Donegal man and we still carry out some small works in Donegal and I have a lot of Donegal workers with me here.
“They come from Donegal to Dublin for the working week we cover the accommodation cost. This makes it feasible for these men and I can tap into the resources in Donegal and bring them down to Dublin – that’s how I deal with labour.
“I am also a member of the (DDBN) Donegal Dublin Business Network connecting Donegal people in business in Dublin. Set up in 2017 with a view to encourage Donegal business people in Dublin to refer business to each other.”
So, what has been the secret to such quick success for Northstone Construction Ltd over the past half decade?
How has a small start-up grown into a now thriving business employing more than 30 staff from its base in Blackrock.
For Paul, much of it has been about earning trust from clients by delivering quality work time and time again.
“I suppose we offer a complete package from tender right on through and we also offer the client reassurance on a project,” he stated.
“We work with them over a period of time to make sure the project is carried out the way they want, and we also deal with some very good architects in Dublin.
“DMOD Architects, ODKM in Fitzwilliam Square and DVBF Architects in Rathmines would be some of the architects we’d work with on a regular basis, while Ger Sheehan Architects in Newcastlewest in Limerick would be who we deal with on the healthcare end.”
Looking towards the coming months for his business, the Tir Chonaill County man is as optimistic as ever as they look to complete works on Kilminchy Lodge Nursing Home, gain a few more projects and perhaps even expand a bit along the way.
“The hopes for 2022 are to continue to progress in the same trajectory as we’ve been on over the last five years.
“We want to maintain our high Health & Safety standards too and keep our strong working relationship with our clients as well,” Paul concluded.
Northstone Construction Ltd
Hollypark Studio,
The Old Courtyard,
Hollypark Avenue,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin
Tel: +353 (0) 1 2892208
Mob: +353 (0) 879402048
Email: [email protected]
This article was published in Building Ireland Magazine, May 2022, Vol 8 No 5
