Octabuild Awards 2024 Telfords of Portlaoise win Overall Award for Excellence

Telfords Portlaoise Ltd has won the overall Octabuild Award for Excellence at the 2024 all-island Octabuild Builders Merchant

Excellence Awards. The company also won the Leinster Regional Award. Other winners came from Belfast, Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Meath and Wexford.

The Octabuild Builders Merchant Excellence Awards ceremony was held in October at a gala event in the Round Room at the Mansion House in Dublin. It was attended by over 250 guests, including shortlisted merchants and representatives of the builders merchant trade from across the country. The event was hosted by the eight Octabuild members – Dulux, Etex, Glennon Brothers, Grant Engineering, Gyproc, Irish Cement, Kingspan Insulation and Wavin.

Guest of honour was Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Micheál Martin, TD. Commending all the winners the Tánaiste said: “I would like to congratulate all the finalists and winners at this year’s awards, particularly Telfords Portlaoise Ltd who won the overall Octabuild Award for Excellence 2024. These awards recognise the vital role of the builders merchants industry to the wider construction sector. I want to commend the organisers and Octabuild

About Telfords of Portlaoise

Telfords Portlaoise Ltd has been in business for 34 years, employs 77 staff and previously won the Octabuild Award for Excellence in 2019. Telford’s impressed the judges as a well-rounded, one-stop-shop for hardware, building materials and electronics. Led by Liam McEvoy and supported by a strong management team, the company has implemented efficient systems such as enhanced return policies, SEO strategies and daily inventory checks. Safety improvements include smoke detectors, defibrillators and airconditioning. Significant upgrades to key departments have improved customer experience. Their environmental initiatives, such as EV charging points and a bottle deposit return scheme benefiting local charities, along with their support for community activities, made Telford’s a standout, deserving of the award.

Chairperson, Declan Conlon, for such a great event.”

This year builders merchants competed for five individual category awards, four regional awards and a “Rising Star” award, to acknowledge up-and-coming talent in the industry. Octabuild Chairperson, Declan Conlon said: “It is important for Octabuild that the awards highlight the excellence of Irish builders merchants to the building and construction industry amid its ever-changing landscape.

Congratulations to all finalists and winners from all over the country who represented absolute excellence in the industry.”

Quality entries

Commenting on the quality of the entries, the judges said: “It is evident that the industry is evolving at a rapid pace with merchants across the country leading the way in the continuously-changing landscape. The competition is fierce as merchants have embraced the opportunities in staff training, stock portfolio, premises, customer service, promotion, e-commerce and sustainability to develop their businesses.”

In total, 11 awards were presented at the awards ceremony, as well as the Octabuild Lifetime Achievement Award, which went to Ian Haldane, CEO of leading independent supplier Haldane Fisher.

In addition to the two awards won by Telfords Portlaoise Ltd, other winners were:

Connacht/Donegal/Monaghan/ Cavan Regional Award: Joyce’s Hardware & Home, Galway; Munster Regional Award: Cork Builders Providers, Togher, Cork; Northern Ireland Regional Award: JP Corry Springfield Road, Antrim; Excellence in Business Management Award: Cork Builders Providers, Togher, Cork;

Octabuild Judges Joe Harlin and Liam O’Gorman.

Excellence in Customer Service Award: Rooneys Home & Hardware, Meath;

Excellence in Sales & Marketing Award: Wallace’s Homevalue, Wexford; Excellence in Sustainable Business Award: Chadwicks Robinhood Road, Dublin;

Excellence in Community Outreach: Inishowen Co-Op, Donegal; Rising Star Award: Luke Martin –JP Corry Dromore, Down.

The road ahead is challenging, but it is also full of promise. “