One of the leading manufacturers of precast concrete products in Ireland, Murphy Concrete Products, have announced that they will be moving to a recently acquired 5acre site on the outskirts of Enniscorthy.
The former Boortmalt site on the Old Dublin Road is expected to feature a 20,000sq ft production facility. Construction at the site is well underway with the move expected to take place this spring.
Works currently underway include the significant redevelopment and expansion of both the manufacturing and office block where the latest technology in machinery and equipment is being fitted.
The main driver behind this significant investment is to enable Murphy Concrete to increase their design and manufacturing capacity and provide further scope for the development of new products and new markets.
Currently, the two dominant markets are agriculture and construction, however their storage and septic tank products are opening new opportunities in the environmental market.
The management and design team at Murphy Concrete work closely with farmers, contractors and suppliers to ensure the best quality and most up-to-date knowledge is incorporated into their concrete products, something they are committed to ensuring remains at the core of the Murphy’s brand. The team have recently worked on developing products for schools and playgrounds.
Established in 2009 by John Murphy, the second generation of his family to work in the concrete business, John who now acts as Managing Director, outlined that this investment is necessary in order to fulfil new markets and their international expansion strategy.
John has noticed that off-site assembly of concrete products is the way forward for the construction of houses and commercial buildings, where products or parts for buildings would have previously been made on-site. According to John, “this method can be very costly, and weather has a huge impact on the delay in this process. The move to our new production facility will allow us to cater for this market and produce products in a factory controlled environment.”
International diversification
Despite and prior to the threat of Brexit, important markets for Murphy’s are France and Germany. John explains, “We have been working towards growing our international reach over the past 12-16 months but much of our challenge has been the demand for larger products which we simply couldn’t fulfil at our existing premises in Ballindaggin.
“When we first started 10 years ago standard size concrete products included drinking troughs with a capacity for 120 gallons. We are now in a market where standard size orders from our agri customers are for 400 to 550 gallon troughs. This means we need larger manufacturing equipment and more storage space. We had simply outgrown our site in Ballindaggan and the relocation to Enniscorthy is the next step in moving the business forward.”
John’s focus is on delivering a quality product that meets the requirements of their customers, therefore helping them succeed in their own businesses.
“Meeting the requirements of our customers has also led us into developing bespoke products, not just across the agri sector but in the broader construction sector and so our new site will also allow us to do this on a larger scale.”
As recent as 2018, Murphy Concrete Products were granted the CE Quality Mark from NSAI which ensures they meet high safety, health, and environmental protection requirements.
“We are proud to work so closely with our customers, designing products that they feel will help them succeed in their own business. We ensure that our products are of the highest quality and use the latest technology in production,” John concluded.