Cygnum Timber Frame Manufacturing Facility Visit
Inside the Most Advanced Timber Frame Construction Facility in Ireland
Inside the Most Advanced Timber Frame Construction Facility in Ireland
The fourth Skillnet MMC Accelerate event of 2025 brought together building professionals, working in timber construction and beyond, as well as industry partners and housing bodies to Cygnum Building Offsite. The timber frame manufacturers, based near Macroom in Co. Cork, welcomed 40 attendees to their site for presentations on timber frame building and a tour of their semi-automated facility.
Speakers represented both construction companies and industry bodies: Dr. Alan Hore, Director of CitA and Co-Lead of Skillnet MMC Accelerate; Órla Gilroy, Project Manager for Skillnet MMC Accelerate; John Desmond, Managing Director of Cygnum; Heber McMahon, Director of Sales for Cygnum; Joanne Treacy, Construction Industry Federation Director; and Briane Greene, Associate Director of CField Construction.
Managing Director of Cygnum, John Desmond, first welcomed attendees to the event with a brief overview of the company’s history and current building capacity.
Co-Lead of Skillnet MMC Accelerate, Dr. Alan Hore, next gave an address on the importance of continued innovation in Modern Methods of Construction (MMC). Órla Gilroy, Project Manager for Skillnet MMC Accelerate, followed with an explanation of the Skillnet MMC Accelerate initiative. She elaborated on the purpose of the platform and regional business support events to accelerate the adoption of MMC by upskilling building professionals, promoting innovation, and increasing workforce inclusion.
Director of Sales for Cygnum, Heber McMahon, picked up where John Desmond left off to further elaborate on how Cygnum has developed its off-site manufacturing process. He talked about the various timber frame kits offered and Cygnum’s process for assembly. He also emphasised the need to increase opportunities in the construction training space to give professionals a grounding in panelised and off-site building.
“I’m confident in saying that we have one of the most advanced and automated off-site construction facilities in Ireland, certainly in the timber frame space.”
Director of Sales for Cygnum
Next, Joanne Treacy of the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) discussed how panelised housing systems offer the speed of build needed to deliver more residential and commercial projects. She painted a broader picture of the opportunities in the construction sector to increase skills capability and building capacity. Joanne also discussed the CIF’s role in government lobbying to develop frameworks for 3D volumetric building and supporting the regional development of off-site construction.
“Off-site construction offers a scalable, sustainable, and cost-effective solution to meet growing housing demands while improving quality and environmental performance.”
Director of the Construction Industry Federation
Briane Greene, Associate Director of CField Construction, closed the presentations with a case study CField partnered with Cygnum on at Ballyvolane in Cork City. The 753-unit project, built in six neighbourhood phases, included a retail centre, crèche, doctor’s surgery, and community unit, as well as ancillary services and infrastructure. Briane covered how working with Cygnum, as well as using MMC principles such as Lean management tools, helped the company to drastically reduce build timelines.
Following the speaker addresses and an audience Q&A, attendees joined a site tour to see how Cygnum integrates its design office processes and timber frame manufacturing on the production floor. Following each step of production, attendees discovered how Cygnum uses MMC principles to automate its manufacturing process and enhance its production capabilities to produce six residential units every day.