Ronan McGee, joint managing director at Duke McCaffrey, reflects on our company’s impressive rise and shares his vision for the future.
Joining a new business would usually be seen as a significant leap of faith, but having known Joe and Kevin for a number of years and knowing their individual qualities, I never viewed it that way.
Together, we’ve managed to grow Duke McCaffrey from just three people to a bustling team of 20 - and we’re currently hiring. Helping to develop the company and watching it grow has been hugely rewarding. Now, stepping into the role of joint managing director of the Irish business, along with Mark, feels like a natural reflection point: a chance to celebrate everything we’ve achieved so far and everything we hope to do in the future.
My primary focus always has been - and continues to be - cost management. In that view, the past two years have been especially challenging for the construction industry. Like all sectors, hyperinflation and economic volatility have taken their toll.
Our relationships with the construction ecosystem and our general collaborative approach have helped our clients overcome the obstacles so far, but now, the nature of the challenge is morphing in new ways. With issues around labour, lack of skills, interest rate increases or a variety of planning risks, perhaps, now more than ever, our clients need our guidance and support to make projects commercially viable.
Our experience has given us insights into managing the highs and the lows, from our knowledge of modern methods of construction and innovative mechanical and electrical systems to uncovering cost efficiencies in design that might otherwise be overlooked.
My fellow directors and I understand the importance of taking a hands-on, agile approach to every project - it’s one of the primary reasons clients repeatedly come back to us. They know they will receive consistent senior-level involvement throughout the project lifecycle.
But that isn’t the only reason. As our company has grown, we have differentiated ourselves through our unwavering commitment to quality: the calibre of our staff and resources, the level of detail we go into in our reports and the flexibility of our approach. All of these factors foster confidence and faith amongst our clients. They know they can trust us to meet - and exceed - their expectations.
Underpinning the quality of our output lies the holistic efforts of our fantastic team. I’m proud that we’ve built a culture of transparency and openness at Duke McCaffrey, where everyone is heard and listened to. Supporting our younger team members is especially important to us. This is a company where people can grow and learn in a supportive environment - my own career here exemplifies it.
We as a business recognise that there are more challenges to overcome, particularly in the short term, but there are also significant opportunities to be realised.
For our company, our vision for the next ten years is continued sustainable growth while maintaining the quality of our high-level service. We’re up for the challenge and look forward to helping our clients achieve the same.
