ISSUE 3 - DECEMBER 2021
THE BIG INTERVIEW:
BIDVEST NOONAN – OPTIMISM UNDERPINNED BY STRONG CORE VALUES was a time of being as adaptable and flexible as we possibly could be, and being much more innovative with how we resource contracts. Our rosters had to change completely, as did our staffing levels and the way that we managed contracts.
FINGAL CHAMBER - NETWORK MAGAZINE
“In our healthcare sector our focus on infection control increased and included new measures. It was challenging time for our people. People working in the healthcare sector are very empathetic and will speak and engage with patients. But unfortunately that had to stop, it was an absolute imperative that they couldn’t do that anymore, which was distressing for them.”
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Bidvest Noonan, is Ireland’s leading provider of facilities services and one of the country’s largest employers. Bidvest Noonan CEO Cormac Sheils, shares how the company’s culture and credo enabled it to keep people safe, support clients and achieve exceptional growth during the pandemic. Sheils shares his confidence in Irish business and his belief that Irish optimism can drive Ireland’s post pandemic recovery. Bidvest Noonan was founded in 1977 to provide services to both the public and private sectors in Ireland. Today, with 27,000 employees, it is a market leader in in both Ireland and the UK and has a group turnover of some €830 million. Its range of complementary offerings encompass cleaning, security, decontamination, M&E engineering services, electronic security, industrial services, reception and facilities management. It also operates across a range of sectors – from education, retail and life sciences to healthcare, agrifoods and the public sector.
The company has grown through a combination of strong organic growth and strategic acquisitions. Over the past two years Bidvest Noonan doubled in size and in Ireland it welcomed four new businesses into its group, Interact, a market leading provider of M&E engineering services, H2O Solutions, a specialist water services company, Ancove, a specialist waste management business, and Amber, an industrial cleaning services business in Northern Ireland. Cormac Sheils, CEO of Bidvest Noonan in Ireland, has a vivid recollection of when COVID-19 hit. “March 12, 2020 was a day like no other. We were experiencing a real crises and this was a moment we had never encountered before” For so many companies across Ireland and around the world it was a big shock to the system. “Initially many of our customers in education and retail sectors closed their doors completely, as did some in the transport and aviation sectors. However, others such as in the manufacturing life sciences and healthcare sectors needed to remain open. They had critical work to do and they needed our support more than ever before,” Cormac Sheils recollects. “So we had to adapt very quickly, moving staff between contracts and doing our best to keep people working during that time and being sensitive to their personal situations, too. So it
Overall, the business has grown during the period of lockdown, partly through acquisition but also by continuing to build its service offering to customers. “We’re seeing positive momentum in our businesses at the moment, because we’re increasing our service offering and also increasing how we use technology as a resource to improve efficiency for our customer base.” Cormac Sheils says.
Core values According to Cormac Sheils, the company’s credo has contributed to its success. The company’s credo comprises six principles: putting people first, consistently getting the basics right, earning trust, being adaptive and agile, supporting local
