Coshla Quarries services new N6 dual carriageway

Coshla Quarries Ltd in Athenry was proud to provide material for the new N6 dual carriageway between Ballinasloe and Galway, which opened in December. Quarry manager Martin Collins explains more.

Opened in October 2007, Coshla Quarries Ltd. is focusing its energies on becoming a one-stop shop for all your building needs.

A limestone quarry situated on 70 acres at Cashla, Athenry, Coshla Quarries has big plans for the future which includes the manufacture and supply of concrete blocks.

“We got great business from the N6 project, but now that has been completed, we have to explore other avenues,” explains the quarry’s manager Martin Collins.

“We already have concrete and asphalt production plants on site and the next step is to begin making concrete blocks. When that happens, we would be in a position to supply everything to the one-off builder from the sand and gravel to concrete and concrete blocks.”

While Coshla Quarries hasn’t been immune from the recession, Martin is confident of an upturn in the construction industry in 2010.

“It will never be the same as it was but I’m hopeful that things will pick up again next summer. Outside of the N6 project, we saw a big decline in business this year. Like a lot of other companies, it’s all about covering our costs at the moment. It’s not about making profits anymore unfortunately.

“Our customers are mainly builders and farmers, but we are planning to target people who are building their own houses once we start producing concrete blocks.

“We are currently supplying the material to the new IDA Park in Athenry which is being developed by Wills Bros. We’ve also recently secured a contract to supply concrete to a KFC Drive-thru which is being built by Purcell Construction,” he says.

Martin admits that the contract with road builders N6 (Construction) Ltd played a vital role in helping to get the company established. Coshla Quarries received planning permission from Galway County Council to begin quarrying at its Athenry site (not far from Galway Airport) in June 2007 and within three months, material was being used to service the construction of the final stage of the new Dublin-Galway motorway.

The scheme consisted of 56 km of dual carriageway between Galway and Ballinasloe, a 7 km link to the Loughrea bypass, 32 km of side roads and five-grade separated junctions (Glennascaul, Athenry, Carrowkeel. West Ballinasloe and Tulrush).

“It was a great launching pad for us. As soon as we were granted planning permission, we made a roadway into the quarry and built an office. We then moved the quarrying equipment in and the rest, as they say, is history.

“Between October 2007 and October 2009, we extracted 2.6 million tonnes of limestone from the quarry. It will be many more years before the quarry is exhausted. We also supplied all the aggregates for tarmac on the new road. It was a great way to get started.”

Coshla Quarries’ commitment to its limestone extraction interests is evident in regular investment in plant. As a result, practically all plant at its Athenry quarry is under three years old.

High standards of plant are crucial to ensure consistency of production, which is an essential element in the supply of sand and quarry aggregates to its concrete interests. Among the plant on site are two primary crushers, two secondary crushers, four screeners, three loading shovels, one 40-tonne dump truck and various long and short-reach excavators.

At present, the quarry is serviced by 14 trucks and employs 10 full-time staff. Some of the plant is on hire from Statcroft Transport & Civil Engineering Ltd, which is based in Turloughmore and is owned by John Morris, who is one of Coshla Quarries’ two directors.

Statcroft was formed in 1991 by Mr John Morris and is a hugely successful company that has undertaken roadworks, pipeline works, bulk excavations, concrete works, ducting works and major haulage contracts throughout Ireland for large building contractors. At present Statcroft employs 61 people, where possible John will try to employ locally. Statcroft also likes to support local sporting events through sponsorship of hurling and camoige teams as well as supporting the schools where possible. Statcroft will continually strive to develop its business and market share through the use of exceptional equipment and plant, combined with an experienced and professional workforce with a focus on client satisfaction and a willingness to provide the client with the required outcome.

The other director is John Flaherty, who heads up the hugely successful C&F Group, who are global manufacturers of industrial equipment and tools.

Winner of a prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2008, John established the C&F Group 20 years ago. Sales revenue for the Group has grown steadily over the past five years and turnover in 2007 reached $100 million internationally.

This growth was achieved through shrewd financial management, identifying cost improvements, investment in new technology, implementation of best practice manufacturing processes and, most importantly, a vision to excel in service, building customer relationships and continuous innovation.

The C&F Group is headquartered in a purpose-built 180,000 sq feet facility in Athenry. The Group employs 984 people worldwide. C&F has a significant number of Fortune 500 companies on its client list, including IBM, EMC, APC, Ingersoll Rand, Glen Dimplex, Sanyo and Hitachi Koki. Furthermore, C&F have achieved ‘Top Tier Global Supply Status’ with three of the leaders in the server rack business – IBM, EMC and APC.

The Group’s value proposition is to deliver superior products and services to its clients. The C&F Group has assembled a first class team of industrial design experts to deliver solutions based on innovation and engineering excellence. The company has structured a unique set of distinctive capabilities based on domain expertise, spanning from concept design to a world–class manufacturing process.

Beyond its design and tooling expertise, C&F’s whole manufacturing process is a blend of state-of-the-art technology and best in class industrial engineering know-how, all of which is unrivalled by its competitors.

C&F’s operational excellence is predicated by its ability to out-perform, out-class and out-deliver its competitors on levels of workmanship quality, streamlined manufacturing processes and unsurpassed levels of customer care and retention. C&F’s performance within its industry sector is in the upper quartile for its client’s total cost of business.

For further information about Coshla Quarries Ltd, telephone Martin Collins on 091-389020. He will be delighted to speak with you.

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