JP Corry, Bangor, followed up the branch’s success at the previous Octabuild Awards by winning the Business Focus accolade this time around.
After winning the Overall Merchant of the Year title at the biennial awards in 2014, Branch Manager, Paul McDonnell, was convinced that they wouldn’t be in the running for further recognition this time around. But, as the old adage goes, if you’re not in, you can’t win and being rightly proud of the branch, Paul again put his team forward.
“It will always be hard to top being named as the Overall Merchant of the Year but we felt that it was important to again put ourselves forward,” said Paul. “We are delight to have again been recognised and it is a great boost for our hard-working team again.”
Paul, who has been working for JP Corry’s for over a decade and has been branch manager in Bangor for the last two years, said the company’s strong base in the construction industry has allowed them to look at other areas of growth.
“With our trade customers we have been enjoying a very busy time,” he explained. “House building in the wider Bangor area has started again and that has been great to see after so many difficult years for the industry.
“We enjoy a strong reputation within the construction industry and we work hard to maintain that with our trade customers, but having that strong base has also allowed us to look at areas of growth in the retail sector and that is also paying off for us too.
“While both sectors require a different focus, having such a wide variety of products combined with such a high standard of service means we are perfectly positioned to meet the needs of both trade and retail customers.”
With a landscape centre, door and floor showroom, a self-build centre and a specification product showroom, the impressive offering at JP Corry, Bangor, is proving attractive to a wide range of customers.
“Having these facilities makes a real difference and having the back-up and support of head office brings added confidence.”
Pictured are (left-right) Paul McDonnell, Fred Neill, Tadhg Donohoe, Chairman, Octabuild and George Carlisle.
CASTLEREAGH
This year’s Management Award was presented to the hard-working team at JP Corry, Castlereagh, which is led by Branch Manager, Andrew Moorehead.
“This is a fantastic achievement for our whole team,” explained Andrew. “We have a great group of people here at the branch and it is this collective effort that makes the branch such a success.
“The industry has faced some difficult times in recent years but we have still managed to ensure that we go the extra mile for our customers and I think they recognise that effort. I believe that is one of the reasons why they keep coming back. We are lucky to have a very loyal customer base but we don’t ever take that for granted.”
One of three branches in Belfast, the experience team in Castlereagh works closely with small to medium-sized builders along with DIY enthusiasts.
With a complete product range on offer, the Castlereagh branch – which has been opened for nearly a decade – also benefits from being in close proximity to the company’s Springfield Road headquarters.
Having three branches within the city is a major asset for the company and with strong inter-branch working, customers are the ultimate winners.
Andrew believes that the company’s internal systems are also a key asset, particularly when managing stock across branches, not only in Belfast but across Northern Ireland.
“We do have a strong stockholding on site, but one of the advantages of our location is that we can also tap straight into the larger offering available at the Springfield Road branch to meet customer demands as and when required,” added Andrew.
“Having our head office so close and also having the support of our Tennent Street branch means we have the city well covered. We are proud to play an integral part of that offering and to continue to deliver for our customers in Belfast and beyond.”
Having that access to such an impressive product range, however, means little if you can’t match it with service.
“It’s all about delivering the complete package and we have a lot of experienced personnel in Castlereagh along with the back-up of our technical experts at head office, so our service is second to none,” concluded Andrew.
Pictured are (left-right) Gareth Brown, Stephen Fields, Tadhg Donohoe, Chairman, Octabuild and Jason McClean
SPRINGFIELD ROAD
It can be hard enough keeping any busy builders’ merchant site neat and tidy but when your branch boasts nearly seven acres, then that is a bit more of a challenge. So the fact that JP Corry’s Springfield Road branch in Belfast was awarded the Premises Award speaks volumes about the attention to detail at the site.
“It’s a real team effort and we are delighted to have that recognised at these prestigious awards,” explained Neil McGeown, Branch Manager at JP Corry, Springfield Road. “As our site is also the location of our head office then we are expected to set certain standards and that is what we work hard to achieve.
“Everyone who works here knows the standards that we expect and we all work together to achieve this. We don’t feel that there’s any additional pressure having head office based at the site – for us it is a fresh set of eyes who are able to help keep us right.”
The success at Octabuild made it a recent double for the Springfield Road team after successfully being awarded a Saint-Gobain Health & Safety Diamond Award in recent months.
Saint-Gobain – which is the parent company of JP Corry – is a major global company and the Springfield Road branch was up against some of the world’s leading manufacturers at the Diamond Awards.
However, the judges singled out a focus on educating employees on how they can act safer and generate a safer environment for themselves as a key reason behind the success.
“When you are dealing both trade and retail customers coming into and out of a busy site then health and safety is vital, so winning this award proved to be a major boost. Now with the success at Octabuild we are delighted that our hard work and effort is paying off.”
JP Corry’s Springfield Road branch epitomises the company’s standing as ‘The Complete Building Supplier’ with products ranging from building materials such as aggregates, bricks and stone and cement through to civils, roofing, rainwater goods and the latest innovations from the renewables sector.
The site also includes the company’s washrooms and timber production facilities as well as an extensive landscaping centre.
Pictured are (left-right) Conor Benson, Robert Campbell,Lee-Anne McPeake, Francis Creaney, Neil McGeown, Andrew Campbell, Liam Rouse, Brian Jordan, Tadhg Donohoe, Chairman, Octabuild, Chris Collins, Simon Corry and Gareth Heaney.