EAMONN MCGAURAN & SON LTD.
INN SEPTEMBER 2018 Eamonn McGauran & Son Ltd celebrated 50 years in business. For any company to reach this landmark is a significant achievement and one that the owners were delighted to celebrate with their employees, suppliers and customers.
During a lunchtime celebration on Friday 28th September in the Radisson Hotel Sligo 80 guests enjoyed lunch while listening to presentations from Fiona Candon of Sligo Chamber of Commerce and Lucia Macari, Development Leader from Overstock.
With offices on John St, Sligo, this family run business has supplied electrical services to a large customer base since 1968 and their reputation for providing a quality service now precedes them wherever they go. Founded by husband and wife Eamonn and Mary McGauran, the business has grown from a small start up to become one of the largest electrical contracting firms in the North West. Currently managed by another husband and wife team, Eamonn and Maria McGauran combined their experience from previous roles to take on the management of the business in 2010 when Eamonns parents retired. Their client list includes some of the largest building contractors in the country in addition to numerous state bodies and private sector companies. A true testament to the company’s success is the amount of repeat custom gained as they have worked hand in hand with some of their clients for many decades now.
Through the years Eamonn McGauran & Son Ltd have continued to focus on their core strength of providing a quality service to the industrial and commercial sector. Projects vary from commercial offices, pharmaceutical factories, hospitals to domestic dwellings. The company specialises in a number of areas with government based projects forming a large percentage of business and to tell us more about the work being done is Eamonn. “We are quite busy at the moment with a number of projects ongoing. Currently our projects are with the HSE, OPW, Department of Defence and also a water treatment plant in Sligo,” said Eamonn.
On reflecting on the success of the company over the years Eamonn is keen to point out that the experience and calibre of the employees has been essential to the success of the company. Eamonn revealed “many employees have been with the company for over 20 years and it is very valuable to have that continuity in the company. We have electricians that served their apprenticeship with us and went on to secure work with other businesses but have since returned to us. They’ve all played a huge part in the success of the business as their experience has been invaluable on many projects.”
He added that in order to keep the dynamic of the company in check they take on apprentices on an annual basis, but Eamonn added that it was not just a case of employing anyone. “It can be hard to find good apprentices, but fortunately I’ve good contacts in the schools and I also do some lecturing in IT Sligo which allows me to see what is required of an apprentice academically in addition to the onsite training.”
Indeed one area that Eamonn and his team place great emphasis on is health and safety. “We have achieved the Safe-T-Cert A standard and continue to maintain and improve on our Quality and Safety standards. Our Safety Policy is designed to ensure that all tasks are within the competence and capacity of the employee. The Systems of Work have been designed with that purpose in mind. It is an essential element of our Safety policy to continuously review our standards and improve these beyond current best practices. In recent years we have placed an equal emphasis on the health of our employees by introducing health improvement programmes to encourage employees to focus their individual health ”
As the companys managing director Eamonn pointed out that they are always looking at ways of expanding the business as they continuously tender for work in an industry where continuous improvement is essential. “We are continuously seeking to build new relationships with clients and making every effort to maintain our current relationships with customers. Our goal is always to provide quality work in a safe manner and to meet the budget required. By continuing to innovate and provide our team with technical and safety training, the latest in new technology and BIM software applications our company will continue to strive for generations to come.”