Features

Tobin Engineering: 60 years at the top

16 Oct , 2015  

The success of any business can be gauged by a number of factors, one of which is its longevity. For any business to survive a number of decades, they have to be providing a reliable and efficient service that meets their clients’ demands.

To achieve longevity in the construction industry is even more impressive, given the volatile nature of this sector that has been severely hit by a number of recessions over the years.

However, there are those who have survived through the tough times and prospered in the good for this month’s edition of Building Ireland, we profile one such firm.

Tobin Consulting Engineers are celebrating an astonishing 60 years in business and from humble beginnings this business has grown into one of the leaders in its field of expertise in Ireland.

This consultancy firm concentrates on three areas; civil and infrastructure, water services and energy and environment. With a team of over 100 experienced employees, this Galway headquartered firm has been involved in many projects both here and the U.K.

The management team is headed up by Robert Tobin, the latest generation of this family run business, while Ciaran McGovern Director – Civil Engineering & Infrastructure spoke to Building Ireland about the success of the company over the years.

Tobin Consulting Engineers have sixty years’ experience in conceptualising and delivering projects in partnership with our clients. We strive to deliver robust projects which add value for our clients by understanding their challenges and contributing to the delivery of their long term Strategic Objectives.

“The quality of service we deliver and our approach to projects is driven by our Core Values which for us mean people & relationships, safety, commerciality, sustainability and innovation. These are the things which we care about most and on which we build our reputation,” said Ciaran.
Tobin are a multidisciplinary Consulting firm, but their principal focus is on the delivery of professional services in the areas of; Water Services and Resources, Energy and Environment, Civil Engineering Works and Infrastructure and the Project Management Function across each of these business areas.

“We have a tremendous variety of projects ongoing at present being delivered by in-house technical staff including Civil & Structural, Building Services, Quantity Surveying, Environmental Scientists, Building Information Modellers (BIM) and Project Managers”.

“You can certainly see the upturn in the industry in the last couple of years where the private sector now has greater access to funding, and the Project Management single point of responsibility offering we provide has allowed us to grow our business year on year”.

Asides from the headquarters in Galway, Tobin Consulting Engineers also have offices in Dublin, Castlebar, London and Poland.

Some of the featured projects that the company have been involved in recent years include the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence; Galway Port redevelopment; Shannon Airport development; the Eirgrid North-South 400kV Interconnector Development; Greater Dublin Drainage and Leixlip Water Treatment Plant expansion.

“One of the most significant projects that we are involved in at the moment is the National Sports Campus.”

On March 3rd, 2014 another major milestone was achieved in the development of the National Indoor Arena when Tobin Consulting Engineers were appointed as the Technical Advisors to the project. Their role is to act as the Authority technical support for the successful construction and completion of the National Indoor Arena and a range of key high performance athlete facilities including the covered Synthetic Pitches. In addition the National Horse Sport Arena was officially opened in October 2013.  The NSCDA have also put in place High Performance training facilities for athletes in a variety of sporting disciplines including Multi-Sport All-weather Pitches , Modern Pentathlon, Fencing,  Pistol-Shooting, Gymnastics and Diving. The Indoor Arena project includes the construction of a National Gymnastics Centre; National Indoor Athletics Training Centre; National Indoor Training Centre with facilities for over 20 sports. Construction is estimated to last for 24 months with a completion in mid to late 2016. This element of the Campus is viewed as a key missing piece of sporting infrastructure of the state.

The company’s core values are an expression of who and what they are and of what is important for them now and for the future. They are the professional principles and behaviours which define TOBIN and how they interact with their clients, their stakeholders and each other.

“Our future depends on our ability to understand our customer’s strategies, our desire to learn and develop the technologies of the future, our ongoing contribution to the development of our profession and our commitment to the professional development of our people. We are committed to delivering Client Focused Sustainable Engineering and Environmental Services through the dedication of our skilled professionals.”

Ciaran admitted that since the end of the current recession, the principles of lean construction, risk management and sustainability are to the fore in the successful delivery of all of our projects.

“We offer a professional service and understand what the client needs. We also know that every decision has to be made with the utmost care.
As a multidisciplinary consultancy we have a broad service offering in both and the private and public sectors and the future looks bright for the company.”

Tobin Consulting Engineers
Fairgreen House,
Fairgreen Road,
Galway,
Ireland
Tel: +353 (0)91 565211
Fax: +353 (0)91 565398
e-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.tobin.ie

Taken from Building Ireland magazine Vol 1 No 1, Autumn 2015