Construction BUSINESS

Newly-appointed managing director, James Godley, has heralded the start of a new era for Townmore when he officially launched the construction firm’s rebrand. James Godley’s move to Townmore, following three decades in senior management roles for tier 1 contractors on large scale projects (€100 million+) is a strong signal of Townmore’s ambition for the company.

Speaking about the move, James Godley said: “It is a fantastic challenge for me to be at the helm of a dynamic organisation with a very bright future. My role now is to build out processes that I have used extensively over the last few decades to provide a lean construction group that will enable growth at scale for the future.”

Townmore has grown from a small enterprise over a decade ago, to having a group turnover of €65 million in 2019, with a staff of more than 100 direct employees. Headquartered in County Offaly, Townmore opened new offices in Mallow, County Cork and London in 2019 and is currently building a new office in Dublin.

A robust pipeline of work for 2020, worth an estimated €130 million puts the company on track to generate 90 new jobs in Ireland. Key design and build projects for 2020:

* 440 apartments in Donaghmede (€90 million scheme)

* Extension to the historic Wynn’s Hotel on Lower Abbey Street, Dublin

* Rapid build hotel project on MacCurtain Street, Cork.

* Apartment scheme in North London (partnered with Thornsett Group)

* Delivery of €10 million worth of projects across our Controlled Environments Division, servicing the MedTech & BioTech sectors.

Townmore has recently appointed a senior Health, Safety, Environmental and Quality (HSEQ) Manager to ensure excellence in all aspects of health and safety across direct staff and also across the entire supply chain.

Technology is transforming modern construction and the team at Townmore are leading the charge. The use of BIM, or building information modelling, became mandatory on all Townmore projects from Q3 2019. This required heavy investment in hardware, software and training for all staff and subcontractors on site.

James Godley pointed out: “Townmore is about the people that run our sites and administer the works we do. Our team is the largest and most important asset we have, the successful growth of our company has been driven by our people. Obviously, with growth comes opportunities which our people are taking in their stride to improve the company and themselves. Over the past decade, Townmore has earned a reputation across the industry for being a great place to work and this is critical to us. We have invested heavily in our people by selected training initiatives to upskill our dedicated staff, graduate programmes for the future of the company and to combat the current skills shortage and inhouse training to share the extensive expertise available within the company.”

CAPTION:

Pictured (left to right): Denis Lahart, Regional Director; Seamus Quirke, regional Director; Kevin Enright, Commercial Director; and James Godley, Managing Director of Townmore.