A friendly neighbour
November 27, 2011John Tinnelly & Sons Ltd. started life as Tinnelly Demolition in 1959 and has been successfully and safely carrying out major demolition and dismantling contracts since its formation. Founded by the late John Tinnelly in 1959, the company is still family-owned and managed under the guidance of the founder's son, Patrick (Patsy) Tinnelly Snr.
Headquartered at Clough House, 46 Forkhill Road, Newry, County Down, John Tinnelly & Sons operates nationwide, specialising in three specific areas of operation - demolition, environmental and recycling. SHEQ (Safety, Health, Environment & Quality) manager Micheal Canavan explains:
"They started in demolition, with a few other departments - like making concrete blocks - and then developed a scrapyard and became a licensed End of Life processing unit, depolluting and cubing the cars and then sending the metal off for recycling.
"There are three divisions within the limited company today: Tinnelly Demolition; Tinnelly Environmental; and Tinnelly Recycling.
"Tinnelly Demolition, as the name suggests, demolishes buildings and has been going since 1959.
"Tinnelly Environmental was formed at a later stage, in the 1970s, when asbestos started to become an issue as buildings were being demolished. Before we demolish a building, we will carry out an asbestos survey and will remove and dispose of it safely. We have secured an Asbestos Removal Licence in the UK and this licence also covers us for the Republic of Ireland as we can produce it to prove that we are competent in removing asbestos.
"Tinnelly Recycling encompasses the recycling end of the business, including scrap metal, cars and any other materials we salvage from sites. We separate all the waste on site for recycling to ensure that the absolute minimum goes into landfill.
"We have always used Dundalk Port to ship out our scrap metal.
The ongoing success of John Tinnelly & Sons Ltd. is based on a combination of engineering and project management skills. With over 50 years of experience as an industry leader, many of its key personnel have been employed with the company for over 20 years.
Investment, experience, continuous training, and the principle of safety are enshrined in the company's ethos, ensuring that Tinnelly Demolition remains the design team's choice for that "impossible" job and all contracts are carried out under full insurance and adhere to the BS 6187 (2008) Code of Conduct.
Established as a separate specialist division, Tinnelly Environmental builds on over 20 years of experience in the field of asbestos abatement. The division addresses the increasing demand for solutions for the management of asbestos and hazardous materials. Services include asbestos surveys and bulk sampling, condition reports, risk assessments, management, removal and fabric and component reinstatement.
Tinnelly Recycling was established in 1973 and focuses on the recycling of ferrous and non-ferrous metals. The company also has a salvage yard and of live vehicle processing facility located at its head office in Newry Co. Down. The introduction of a documented Quality Management System demonstrates the Managing Director's commitment to continual improvements in all business activities. John Tinnelly & Sons has achieved three ISO standards and has successfully maintained these since 2006: ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2007 and OHSAS 18001: 2007. Tinnelly has been awarded Safe Contractor, Safe T Cert, NFDC Site Audit Scheme and ARCA Site Audit Quality System to name a few. They are also members of RoSPA, from whom they get guidance on the very best health and safety practices.
Over the past 52 years, the company has fine-tuned its demolition procedures and has become the only Irish member of the NFDC (National Federation of Demolition Contractors) - the number one demolition trade organisation in the UK. They are also full members of ARCA (Asbestos Removal Contractors Association) - the UK's leading asbestos abatement trade organisation.
John Tinnelly & Sons boasts long-established partnerships with many of the leading blue-chip companies in Ireland such as Diageo, Dublin Airport, Dublin Port, Irish Sugar, Irish Cement, Intel and Coca Cola.
Over the years, John Tinnelly & Sons had operated all over Ireland, as Micheal continues: "The majority of our business - up to 80% - would be south of the border and all the scrap metal from those jobs goes out through Dundalk Port."
Being just across the border from Louth, obviously the company has done a considerable amount of work in the Wee County. "We've done a lot of work in the county, including several jobs for Dundalk Urban Council down through the years. We have a good working relationship with the local authorities in Louth and I'm sure this will continue to be the case," says Micheal.
"We'd also deal with the Council whenever we're bringing abnormal loads through the county. When we're carrying plant equipment, for example, we are required to give them abnormal load notification and we would work hand-in-hand to plan the route."
As for the future of the company, the SHEQ manager concludes: "We are ticking over nicely and we have quite a few jobs in the pipeline at the moment, the majority of which are in the Republic of Ireland. Obviously, we're not as busy as we were during the boom times but we still have several contracts on the go at any one time and we hope this will continue into the future." Tweet
