Fannings’ continue high standards

The Fanning Group has been established since 1984 and during the intervening years has grown into a successful and thriving business that includes three businesses under the one umbrella. General manager Sean Keane spoke to Irish Trucker about the rise of the company over the last 21 years.

Niall Fanning (left) owner and General Manager Sean Keane survey one of their projects

Fanning Contracting, Fanning Golf Ltd and Fanning Machine Rental make up what is the Fanning Group, all of which is run by Managing Director Niall Fanning and his team of reliable and experienced staff.
The company’s office is based in Bray, Co. Wicklow and has many strings to its' bow so to speak. With the help of Sean we give an insight into this established and progressive business.

The first branch of the company to be established was Fanning Contracting and is now a leading civil engineering company within Ireland. Specialising in site development, landfill construction, road construction, earthmoving/rock excavation, gas pipelines, coastal engineering and major drainage means that Fannings can cater for any aspect in this area of expertise.
Sean has been with the company for the past six years and has overseen many projects that they have completed during this time.
"I started as project manager six years ago and have enjoyed my time with the company. We have worked on various medium and large sized projects over the years and have witnessed many changes within the construction industry.

All our employees are highly skilled in their field of expertise and we currently employ in excess of 75 at present which keeps Sean busy although he revealed that the attitude and experience of the employees makes his job that bit easier.
"The team consists of highly qualified, energetic and experienced professionals with strong work ethics and high personal values who have excelled themselves on the many projects that we have completed," added Sean.

Fanning Contracting have their own extensive fleet of plant equipment that is used for their own use and to hire. All machinery is maintained by the company's well-trained mechanics. The fleet consists of articulated dump trucks, bulldozers, rock breakers and excavators.
"Our machinery is maintained in excellent condition as it is important to avoid unnecessary breakdowns. The reputation of the company is achieved through providing an excellent service accompanied by very high standards of workmanship,” stressed Sean.
Every project and development that Fanning Contracting undertake is supported by a full range of modern computer software and hardware, which helps to carry out any contract professionally, competitively with high quality and cost efficiency.

The splendid DruidÕs Glen where FanningÕs work

Some of the projects that Fanning Contracting have completed include Rock Armour protection works for Roadstone in Co Wicklow; Industrial Site Development for Nevinstown Developments, Site Development and demolition for Cosgrave Group in Co Dublin and Earthmoving works for Kingscourt Brick in Co. Cavan.

"We are currently very busy with some sizeable projects to start in the next few months also. Some of the developments we are working at present are on-going contracts for the 2006 Ryder Cup at the K Club, large residential development in Delgany, Co Wicklow, new link road in Portlaoise, a large infrastructural project for a new retail park in Santry.
Fanning Contracting have worked with many local authorities developing major roads as their reputation for working closely with their clients and completing projects on time precedes them.

The company also place a great emphasis on health and safety. Fanning Group have acted as PSCS (project supervision construction stage) on many projects. The management team have also successfully completed the "Managing Safety in Construction" course run by the Construction Industry Federation and the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, while all employees have safe-pass cards.
"Health and Safety is taken very seriously by this company and it is of the utmost importance that we implement every safety aspect. All our employees have completed the various courses in safety.

Fanning Golf Ltd specialise in golf course construction and maintenance. And when the list of clients is read, it is easy to realise that the company are at the forefront of developing courses.
"We have worked on Druid's Glen, the new course at the K Club and the European Club to name but a few. We have on-going contracts with all these. In the case of the K Club, we are currently completing a number of jobs to ensure that the course and facilities are ready for the 2006 Ryder Cup that will be held there," revealed Sean.

"There are also a number of remodelling projects on the agenda as the golf courses in Wexford, Mullingar, Curragh, Corrstown and Lucan will all be redeveloped in the near future. At present we are Ireland's leading golf course developer and our client list is a testament of that."
Fanning Machine Rental is a relatively new branch of the company's activities and as the name suggests, this involves the rental of the wide range of machinery that Fannings' have at their disposal.

All machinery is transported to the client and picked up by one of their trucks and low loaders. Fanning Machine Rental have highly competitive rates for their machinery, which has seen this end of the business be very successful.
The Fanning Group have undoubtedly become one of the country's leading civil engineering contractors, while they are unrivalled in golf course construction and their machinery rental is also flourishing. So it is onwards and upwards for the Wicklow based firm.