Premier Electrics celebrates 20 years delivering quality projects on time and within budget.
From humble beginnings in rural South Derry Premier Electrics has developed over the last 20 years to become a leading player in the Irish market.
Today it’s a very different business indeed from the one established back in 1993 by electrician, Mark Scullion. Scullion recalls vividly those early days. “Back then we were very much a small, family business – literally one man and a van. While we had a degree of ambition the focus then was not on growth but on providing a service that was driven by quality and performance. It’s encouraging to see these are still the major drivers today.”
Scullion identifies a strong work ethic and a can-do attitude as other vital ingredients within the Premier success which has taken the multi-award winning business to its current size of 150 people and €35m turnover.
“Our guiding principles of quality, a can-do attitude, teamwork, communication and value for money resonate well with our clients which include major retail brands like Penneys (who operate as Primark outside Ireland), ASDA, M&S, Virgin Group, Arcadia, H&M, Zara, Debenhams and John Lewis as well as main contractors such as Bennett, Walls, Sisk, Simons, Simpsons, McLaughlin & Harvey and H and J Martin. These principles form our corporate DNA and every member of our team is immersed in them,” says Scullion.
While Premier’s primary focus has been on serving the needs of major UK and Irish-owned retailers committed to new-builds and store refreshes as well as main contractors seeking a trustworthy electrical contracting partner the company does extensive work in other sectors including hospitality, mixed-use, office, warehousing, and leisure (including sports’ facilities) throughout Ireland, the UK and Europe.
“In recent years we have been pleased to have been involved in many signature projects including the world’s largest Primark store in Manchester, Penneys at Mary Street, Dublin, The Dorchester Hotel in London, Audi’s flagship showroom in Piccadilly, London and Top Shop’s flagship store in Oxford Street, London.”
But, as Scullion points out, Premier can boast unrivalled versatility and its experience goes well outside retail.
“Over the years our teams have delivered dozens of non-retail electrical installation projects for clients including Independent News and Media; Regus (office fit out); The Independent Medical Clinic at Ballykelly, Jurys Hotel, Manchester and the VIP lounge for Aer Lingus at Dublin Airport.
“Within the sporting arena we have been proud to have worked on a major indoor sports facility in Dunloy Co. Antrim consisting of 50m x25m 3G Astra turf playing surface, changing rooms, state of the art Gym and an outdoor ball wall as well as floodlighting schemes for Ballymena RFC and Bellaghy GAC.
“On the hospitality front we’ve been responsible for electrical fit-outs of Jury’s Hotel Manchester, Belfast’s plush Zen Restaurant and a host of major Northern Ireland entertainment venues such as The Elk Bar Toomebridge and award-winning Mary’s Bar in Magherafelt Co.Derry.
Within the last four years especially Premier has becoming increasingly active in the European market where its team has delivered major projects in locations such as Germany, Spain, Portugal, Romania, Holland, Austria and Belgium.
This has come as a result of its partnership strategy with a number of key clients which have been borne out of long-standing professional relationships.
Premier’s international expansion has meant heavy investment for the Irish business in both infrastructure, technology and staff training.
“In order to compete successfully on an Ireland, UK and now European stage we have introduced leading edge processes, technologically sophisticated in-house design and training all of which are aimed at ensuring we deliver consistently on our core client promises of being on time and on budget,” says Premier’s General Manager, Tony Shivers.
Shivers continues: “As the client base and operating territories have grown we have also added an office presence in Germany and put people on the ground in London to be closer to our clients and position us for further growth in these important areas.”
What Premier’s clients say…
Premier’s performance and quality of delivery is recognised independently in a number of ways.
As well as winning the International Award in the UTV / Business Eye awards for its strong growth across Europe and the Aer Lingus / Viscount Exporter of the Year prize Premier also came runner up in the Business Growth category of the UK’s Construction News Specialist Awards earlier this year.
While these recognitions are important cross-sectoral benchmarks for the business the most important validation of Premier’s work comes from its clients.
“The feedback we get from our clients often refers to the strong quality of our workmanship, our can-do attitude, dedication, commitment and ability to deliver on time and within budget in what often can be a very challenging timetable and working environment,” says Shivers.
“Given the strength of our corporate focus on these elements it is always gratifying to see them acknowledged by our clients.”
Organic growth leads to new maintenance division
Keen to play on its strengths as a business that builds strong and sustainable partnerships with its clients as a result of consistent delivery of quality workmanship Premier has formally established a Maintenance Division in the past year.
This new division, headed by John Martin, has been set up to handle planned and reactive electrical maintenance programmes for businesses in Ireland.
John Martin explains: “As a business with its roots in maintenance and a strong track record for supplying maintenance services to large clients outside Ireland it has been a natural progression for us to extend the facility to the island of Ireland.
“Our comprehensive Planned Maintenance packages are tailored around client needs and aimed at minimising the chances of business disruption.
“Our typical Planned Maintenance Package elements include: Statutory Requirements’ audits; Periodic testing; PAT testing; Emergency Lighting testing; Fire Alarm servicing and testing; Security System servicing and testing; Generator servicing and testing; HV servicing and testing; Thermal Imaging; UPS Servicing; Energy Audits and Reactive Planning.
“We know there is no such things a one size fitting all. So our experts will sit down and devise a tailored plan which reflects a client’s needs, aspirations and budget.”
Premier’s Maintenance Service comprises three key stages:
AUDIT – Indepth audit of client buildings in light of Statutory Requirements, Energy Use and a range of other categories.
ANALYSE – Consider the various mandatory and optional requirements using Premier’s unrivalled experience and expertise.
ADVISE – Premier will guide clients on how the various elements should be prioritised, how running costs could be reduced and the contents of an Annual Maintenance Plan.
Premier’s scale, size and structure means their experts can access cities and towns across Ireland with ease. With teams located strategically throughout the island locations from the North West of Ireland to the South East of Ireland can be accessed with ease at short notice.
Martin continues: “We know how important it is for every business to continue to function normally, even when faced with the unexpected. So not only will our teams arrive promptly but they’ll make it their business to get clients back up and running without any undue delays.”
The future
With a strong order book, a market-leading reputation and a relentless focus on delivering quality projects throughout Ireland, the UK and Europe on time and within budget Premier is quietly confident as it moves further forward into 2013 and beyond.
As well as ongoing commitments in Ireland and the UK the company is actively engaged in a range of new European projects in locations as diverse as Zoetermeer and Eindhoven in Holland, Vienna, Cologne, Dusseldorf and Berlin.
“It’s been fantastic to see the growth of the company from a small family-orientated business into a hugely professional international one over the past 20 years, “ says Mark Scullion.
“To enjoy continued growth even through one of the worst recessions ever is testament to the professionalism of our team, the strength of relationships we build with clients and our unrivalled reputation for getting jobs done on time and within budget every time. That brings its own pressures, but they’re the sorts of pressures we like.” For more information on Premier Electrics please log on to www.premierelectrics.com.
TESTIMONIAL
“We called Premier Electrics’ Maintenance division on a Thursday at 1030pm with an emergency. We needed them quickly. A rainwater pipe had burst which had the potential to cause flooding, create a major electrical hazard and require us to close while the damage was repaired. Their team arrived promptly and got to work through the night stripping out all unsafe electrical areas and providing us with a temporary option which enabled us to open as usual at 9am the next morning.
To avoid disruption the Premier team undertook a programme to reinstate the damaged electrics working out of hours with the result that our customers, staff and trading were completely unaffected.”
Leading Irish Retailer
TESTIMONIALS
Thank you to the teams on both stores for their dedication, commitment and ‘can do’ approach…
Major UK Retailer.
Congratulations to Premier on receiving such a high KPI score, one of the highest I’ve seen …
Major UK Retailer
Site teams well supported by their HQ… delivered high quality workmanship to challenging programme… Major Irish Construction company.