Ireland’s Top 50 Contractors In Strong Demand Across The Globe
Turnover figures in Top 50 CIF Contractors increased by €1billion in 2017 and exports estimated to have grown five-fold since 2008.
Figures compiled by Construction Magazine, for its annual Top 50 listing, show that turnover in Ireland’s leading construction contractors grew by €1billion over a 12-month period as global demand for Irish construction continues to increase strongly.
Construction Magazine’s Top 50 Contractors 2017 shows a marked increase in the activity of Irish contractors both nationally and internationally, with many contractors engaged in major projects around the globe for international companies such as Google, Amazon, BMS and Facebook. The Top 50 CIF Contractors had a combined turnover of €6bn in the past year an increase of €1billion on 2016.
CIF Director General Tom Parlon said:
“The top 50 Irish contractors play a critical role in Ireland’s economy. Simply put, they are an essential factor in attracting Foreign Direct Investment into Ireland. The 200,000 or so jobs supported by FDI in Ireland are entirely contingent on these companies expertise and competence. Further to this 70% of all FDI in Ireland is established multi-nationals expanding their footprint; again this is facilitated by our industry’s ability to deliver cutting edge construction solutions. It’s no accident that Ireland is becoming a destination for data centre production for the world’s leading technology companies as our contractors have developed expertise in this area; so much so they are often recruited by international companies for other major projects within their global network.
Our research indicates that this cohort of companies have led an estimated five-fold increase in construction exports since 2008 from around €500million to around €2.3Bn in 2015. Throughout the recession, these companies expanded their exports, targeted other markets and diversified away from the UK and Ireland to China, North America, the Middle East and the Far East. Irish construction companies are now globally preeminent in project management, electrical, specialist and pre-cast production. So much so that the UK authorities recently have sought to recruit Irish companies to help construct one of Europe’s largest mega-project the rail-line connecting London to Manchester and beyond: High Speed 2.
The companies featured in this issue of Construction Magazine are the elite and many are recognised globally as deliverers of cutting edge construction. Some of the projects they are involved in are global mega-projects that are fundamentally shaping the world economy such as Mercury Engineering’s upcoming project on two hyper-scale data centres in Denmark, Bam Ireland’s work throughout Jordan and Abu Dhabi and Ardmac’s data centre and pharma projects throughout Europe
Closer to home, they are also constructing today the Ireland of 2020, 2030 and beyond. They demonstrate that we can become global players on the island of Ireland, if we get conditions in the domestic economy right.”
Many of the companies featured in this year’s Top 50 listing highlight their involvement in a number of large commercial and mixed-use developments being built around the Dublin Docklands Area. Others are working on the major roll-out of new data centres currently underway across Ireland and Europe.
In the residential sector, activity is increasing. According to data from CIS Ireland, the number of residential developments that commenced on-site in Ireland in Q1 of 2017 has increased by 34.6% on the same period in 2016. Increasing demand in major urban areas looks set to create a marked increase in residential development in the coming year.
“It is very encouraging that our new Taoiseach has indicated that he intends to invest strongly in infrastructure, a move which could produce a significant positive impact, not just on our industry, but on Ireland’s wider economy,” Tom Parlon added. “The leading Irish contractors who feature on Construction Magazine’s Top 50 listing this year are a testament of the standard of excellence within our industry. Their work, at home and abroad, shows just how much we can achieve when inspiration, perspiration and government support aligns. Over the coming years these companies will continue to shape our economy, our society and indeed the wider global economy.”
For more details on Construction Magazine’s Top 50 CIF Contractors see www.cif.ie/news
