O’Reilly Precast Visit

Innovative Precast Concrete Product Manufacturing for MMC Developments in the ‘Lake County’ 
 

The Skillnet MMC Accelerate business support event series returned in style as nearly 50 attendees from the construction industry, county councils, investment firms, and beyond joined O’Reilly Precast at its Barleystone site in Kingscourt, Co. Cavan. The event included expert presentations, site visits, and networking sessions. Stakeholders in the regional Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) ecosystem had the opportunity get inside the workings of one of Ireland’s largest precast concrete manufacturers. 

Presentations were delivered by: Emmet Cosgrove, CEO of the O’Reilly Group, and Darragh O’Reilly, UK Business Development Manager of O’Reilly Precast; Nick Taaffe, Senior Development Manager for Respond Housing; Martin Searson, Head of MMC – Certification for the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI); and Orla Gilroy, Project Manager for Skillnet MMC Accelerate. Dr. Alan Hore, Director of CitA and Co-Lead of Skillnet MMC Accelerate, chaired. 

Dr. Alan Hore opened proceedings with a short address on the importance of upskilling in MMC. Orla Gilroy later followed up with details on the dual goals of Skillnet MMC Accelerate: to manage a national platform supporting construction upskilling, and host business support events with Irish companies to demonstrate the increased operational efficiencies and career development opportunities possible through MMC. 

Emmet Cosgrove introduced attendees to O’Reilly Precast, discussing how precast concrete and offsite construction can be pivotal to building faster and more efficiently. He discusssed the company’s history and expertise in precast concrete product development, testing, and manufacturing, citing certification from accreditation bodies such as NSAI s key to staying ahead of the market and gaining buy-in from contractors. He also discussed O’Reilly Precast’s commitment to environmental sustainability, with the use of a sustainable, high-performance cement substitute in their concrete, recycled steel in reinforcements, and other sustainability initiatives during production. 

Next, Nick Taaffe talked about the role of Respond Housing, the largest construction-led Approved Housing Body in Ireland. He shared details on the history of the organisation and its relevant to-date coverage, which includes more than 8,000 properties currently owned and/or managed nationwide. 

He also discussed Respond Housing’s embrace of MMC, including on a recent project at Griffin Point on Hole in the Wall Road in Donaghmede, Dublin 13. This build used O’Reilly Precast Architectural Wall Panels, prefinished with bricks slips, pre-installed vents and integrated windows, for major development time and cost efficiencies. 

Martin Searson delivered the day’s final presentation on MMC Agrément Certification. He started by covering the driving factors in the changing EU regulations and the work of the European Quality Infrastructure Network. He also talked about the links between regulations, standards, and certification in Ireland. Then, he explained how Agrément Certification works for certifying new innovative building materials, and how this certification is applicable to the different categories of MMC systems. Lastly, he shared information on the NSAI’s MMC Certification Toolkit, a suite of free resources developed as a company evaluation assessment for potential MMC certification. 

After the speaker presentations, the audience partook in a Q&A with the speakers, discussing the need for greater standardisation in a housing ‘kit of parts’ to aid small builders and the greater sustainability efforts required by concrete manufacturers. 

To cap the business support event, attendees were treated to a tour of O’Reilly Precast’s Architectural Wall Panel (AWP) plant, an excursion to the local quarry where raw materials for concrete production are sourced, and a technical presentation from Darragh O’Reilly on the company’s AWP products and their use in MMC developments.