Even in the face of the various challenges that all businesses have had to contend with in recent years, County Tyrone-based McGarrity Bros Ltd has continued to develop and progress. This resilience has been its hallmark since its creation in 1958, with the company celebrating its 65th anniversary this year.
Founded by Terry and Arthur McGarrity, the company started life supplying various fertilisers and spreading lime, whilst later excavating and delivering a variety of sand and aggregates. The pair used their gravel quarry to start up a Readymix concrete business in the 1960s, delivering to the local areas with a fleet of three lorries.
When Terry passed away in 1995 his sons Noel and John, along with Arthur, continued to build on their father’s legacy and the reputation that the business had established. Further evolution took place in the late 2000s when it opened a pre-cast division, supplying products such as concrete lintels, sills and kerbs. Hollowcore Floor-Slabs soon followed and in 2018 a larger factory was constructed for the manufacture of the precast flooring. It now has a fleet of over 20 HGVs including 13 Readymix trucks. Its capabilities enable the company to offer delivery of Readymix concrete, concrete blocks, sand and gravel, as well as a wide range of precast products.
Maintaining the strong family thread within the business, when Fearghal graduated in 2017 and Ryan in 2018 respectively, they too joined the business, becoming the third generation of McGarrity to join the company. They have since demonstrated the same drive and determination that has been integral to the business since it was founded, as they strive to move it along the same upward trajectory.
As well as strong leadership from the top, another vital aspect of McGarrity Bros’ success has been its workforce, which has provided the bedrock on which everything it has achieved has been built. Key to this has been the support and commitment that the company provides to its staff, an approach that has led to high levels of loyalty with seven of its 25 employees having been with the company for over 25 years.
“We believe that the key to a successful company is employee longevity and having staff that care about the business and want to better themselves each day,” explains Ryan McGarrity. “As well as supporting our workforce, we also proactively invest in our resources. For example, a couple of years back we erected a new factory for the manufacture of precast floor slabs and most recently incorporated the manufacture of precast concrete stairs within this. These product lines go hand-in-hand with the delivery and installation of Precast flooring and thankfully we have remained extremely busy on both fronts.”
McGarrity Bros also constructed a new state-of-the-art batching plant in 2021, replacing the existing facility that had been in place from 1979. The new plant allows the company to produce & mix concrete a lot more efficiently than its predecessor, thereby ensuring it can manufacture a greater number of products on a daily basis to guarantee customer satisfaction on its manufacture and delivery turnover times.
2022 then saw the company erect a larger V44 wind turbine in the yard, replacing an older V27 model that overlooked the mountainous areas of County Tyrone. This new turbine allows the business to generate electricity at a much lower wind speed, thereby helping reduce the daily running costs on the production side of the business.
Thanks to its continual investment and the quality of its offering, McGarrity Bros has been able to build up an extremely broad customer base ranging from small businesses to larger contractors, private customers and farmers. It has supplied clients all over the UK and Ireland in a variety of markets, such as to private houses and various public sector projects.
The breadth of McGarrity Bros’ customer base has been particularly beneficial in the current climate with the multitude of challenges that businesses are having to contend with.
“The marketplace is quite unstable at the moment, but there are still plenty of opportunities and projects out there,” says Ryan McGarrity. “We have noticed, however, that the lack of skilled tradesmen, such as concrete layers, bricklayers and even HGV drivers, is seriously affecting the industry. This is something that needs to be addressed at grassroots level, such as in schools, to help ensure that this is not at a critical level in around ten years’ time.
“Aside from recruitment, the biggest challenges facing us at the moment is the uncertainty around the price of materials, such as cement, steel and diesel. These challenges have a domino effect and ultimately leave our customers in the same position with the fluctuation in the cost of materials that we supply. The uncertainty around prices has stemmed from a range of factors, but most particularly the Red Diesel Levy coming into effect in April 2022, which followed the Russian invasion of Ukraine hiking the price of oil, which in turn has affected diesel prices.
“We have also been affected by the amount of new build houses being constructed since the interest rates on mortgages for first time builders/buyers hit an all-time high last year. Projects that were due to start have been put on hold to see if the price of materials will come down, which unfortunately does not look likely at the moment.
“We try and source our materials and services locally to ensure that we are always working towards keeping costs and carbon emissions down. A couple of years back we purchased a site for the extraction of gravel for its use in readymix concrete and concrete products. The quarry is located around two miles from our yard and with this we are able to produce the raw materials needed such as various grades of sand and aggregates.’’
Further underlining the strength of its offering, McGarrity Bros recently secured the Constructionline Material Suppliers Plus & Social Value accreditation. Ryan McGarrity outlines how this was achieved: “We achieved the accreditation through the stringent auditing process, which was key to minimising risk and maximising our customer potential for all procurement opportunities. We’re looking forward to expanding our customer base and moving into different markets as we ensure that a high-quality service and product are at the forefront of the business.” This adds to the other accreditations which the company holds such as its BSI certificate and CE Markings. ‘’Having these accreditations are vital in the modern-day construction industry, especially on the supplier front as it ensures that the customer is confident that their supplier is competent in its services and gives them a peace of mind in the product they are purchasing.’’
As it looks forward and to the general investment it continues to make, McGarrity Bros is now aiming to keep progressing as a business, as Ryan concludes: “Our main aim is to keep building on the solid foundations and values that have been in place from the day the company was founded. We have outlined some key product lines and services that we feel may be suitable for the company and we are always looking at the market to see where the demand for new products is. This takes time, but we feel that we have the internal drive and the staff to help us succeed in the future. In the short term, our goals are much the same; we hope to continue to deliver a product and service in which we have prided ourselves on for many years.”
Given the success it has demonstrated over the past 65 years, McGarrity Bros is ideally placed to achieve these goals and keep moving forward within the marketplace for the next 65…
