branching out

branching out
STONE DEVELOPMENTS
Stone Developments emerged out of Sisk’s original contracting business, with John
Sisk & Son buying stone quarries to ensure a steady supply of good stone for its
buildings. Before mass transportation, sourcing materials close to a site made sense
because delivering materials over long distances was difficult.
So on each of its construction projects John Sisk & Son sourced stone locally but in
the case of Castlerea Mental Hospital (now a prison), which the company worked on
in 1937, this proved difficult. As a result John Sisk & Son sought out supplies further
afield which resulted in the company buying a limestone quarry in Ballinasloe.
During its work on Cavan Cathedral in the late 1930s and early 1940s, Sisk
sourced granite from four Dublin and Wicklow quarries, and decided to buy the
Ballybrew quarry in 1954. Then, in 1963, Sisk bought the James Walsh & Sons’ Old
Leighlin Carlow quarry to supply limestone for its monuments business as well as its
building work.
Ten years later, in 1973, the three quarries were brought together under the
umbrella of Stone Developments Ltd which supplied limestone and granite to the
monuments and building trade.
During the 1980s recession, the company explored markets overseas and a
contracting office was set up in London in the early 1980s, to supply and fit both
irish and internationally sourced stone on large building projects. That contracting business relocated to ireland 10 years later, but Stone Developments
continued to supply irish limestone to various projects in Britain, including the
Mayor of London’s offices.
Opposite: “The Scoop” at MORE London,
landscaped in Carlow limestone by Stone
Developments
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in parallel with the development of the Uk market, Stone Developments entered
the Benelux region, where it had identified a market for a Belgian blue limestone
known as Petit Granit that was almost identical to irish limestone from the company’s
Carlow quarry.
Top left: At work on the restoration of
St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin
During the recent economic boom, the rise in finished granite monuments coming
from countries with cheaper manufacturing in the early 1990s had led to the demise
of the large scale manufacture of granite monuments in ireland and the quarry and
factory in Ballinasloe was closed in 1993.
Opposite: Blue limestone quarry at Old
Leighlin, Co Carlow
in the later 1990s the demand for imported stone on building projects and pressure on
granite prices led to the closure of the manufacturing operation at Ballybrew in 2005,
while the design and contract management side moved to Bray. Meanwhile, the limestone exports to Belgium were flourishing and when a key
agent decided, in 2002, to sell his distribution business in Belgium and a limestone
quarry he owned in kilkenny, Stone Developments bought them.
Today Stone Developments has two vibrant businesses – a limestone side that
supplies both processed and semi processed material to irish and international
markets and a contracting company that supplies and fits irish and internationally
sourced materials to large building projects, including those built by Sisk, such as
the Whitewater shopping centre in Newbridge, Co kildare.
Top right: Painting by John G Sisk of the
limestone quarry at Carlow
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Opposite: Restoration of St Patrick’s
Cathedral, Dublin
Right: A mirror-image extension of an
existing block at Dromoland Castle,
Newmarket-on-Fergus, Co Clare. Constructed
using Carlow limestone
Below: Office and quarry staff at Old Leighlin
Quarry, Co Carlow
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conservation and Restoration
Stone Developments took over the running of the Conservation and
Restoration business from a sister Sisk company, international Contract
Cleaners, in 1996. it then developed the scope of the business from simply
facade restoration to include other associated trades such as roofing, leading,
steelwork, plastering etc.
The first major job it undertook was the facade restoration of Dublin City
Hall. Over the past decade it has completed work on numerous occasions
at St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin. This work involved restoration of the spire,
the roof, leadwork and also steelwork for the restoration and realignment
of the bells. Among other contracts Conservation and Restoration has
completed is the Browne Clayton Memorial, a 94-foot Corinthian column in
Wexford. The unique granite column was originally built to honour a popular
local man who was an officer in the British army and was killed in battle in
Egypt. it was struck by lightning a number of years ago, and the missing
and damaged decorative stone was replaced in the column and a lightning
conductor installed. The restoration team has also worked on the Church of
the Assumption in Callan, Co kilkenny, where it was found that the support
structures beneath the spire were unstable. The job involved taking down
the spire, stone by stone, marking each one, providing a new underpinning
and building the spire back up again stone by stone. in addition they detailed
and manufactured replacements for stones that had been damaged over
time, and plastered the portico walls.
Demand for their skills is on the increase as more and more irish people
and businesses understand and appreciate the importance of protecting
and preserving our built heritage. ■
The recently rebuilt Browne Clayton Memorial
in Wexford (right) and the 94 foot Corinthian column
as it was before restoration (left). Photographs: Donal
Murphy photography
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BUilDiN G a B U Si NESS
Left: Glass roof lights
Right: kildare County Council buildings
showing clearly the elaborately glazed
facade
WILLIAAM COX
When the irish distributor of Coxdome rooflights went out of business in the
1960s, kevin Callan, the then commercial director of Sisk, approached its parent
company Williaam Cox of England and negotiated a 50 per cent share of the
business, taking Sisk into glass and cladding. After a number of further buyouts, SiSk
Group currently shares ownership of the company with CRH (Cement Roadstone
Holdings). The company began by importing rooflights and selling them through
builders’ providers. Such was the demand, though, that an irish production facility
was established in Monastery Road, Clondalkin, and the company later expanded
into the Robinhood industrial Estate in Clondalkin, in 1974.
Williaam Cox briefly went into the acrylic bath market before establishing itself as a
windows company in ireland, installing doors, windows and screens countrywide. it
then expanded in 1991 by teaming up with branded glazing and cladding systems
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BUilDiN G a B U Si NESS
B raN ch i N G o Ut
Opposite: Cork County Hall. Refurbished in 2006
with a twin-skinned facade
Left: Charlestown shopping centre, Dublin
Below: Jury’s Hotel, Cork
Bottom: Trespa cladding at the Griffeen Centre,
Lucan, Co Dublin
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BUilDiN G a B U Si NESS
companies to become a key player in that market by providing engineered natural
daylight and ventilation solutions to buildings. The company is now based in the
Cloverhill industrial Estate in Dublin and has premises in Cork and Belfast.
Williaam Cox’s glazing and ventilation systems can be found in many prominent
buildings, such as Beacon Court, Sandyford; Cork County Hall; Croke Park Stadium;
Elm Park, Dublin; kildare County Offices, Naas; Red Mall Blanchardstown Centre; the
Pavilions shopping centre, Swords; the Whitewater shopping centre, Newbridge and
on the sweeping polycarbonate roof of the new Sisk-built stadium at Lansdowne Road.
A question often asked is how the company got the extra ‘a’ in its name. Founder
William Cox, from the East End of London, was struggling financially when he went
to a fortune teller in the Far East who said that he would get rich by changing his
name. That extra ‘a’ apparently made all the difference for his business boomed from
then on.
Williaam Cox is supplying and fitting all
the cladding and glazing at the Aviva
Stadium, Lansdowne Road, Dublin
B raN ch i N G o U t
KORINE
Sisk has been involved in buying and developing property for 67 years, and
under the leadership of John O. Sisk, it built, and owned, several shopping centres
including the Swan Centre in Rathmines, and Ballymun (both in Dublin), Shannon
and Waterford City Square. To simplify the structure, Sisk Properties was closed, and
its portfolio sold off at the beginning of this century, and korine came into existence.
korine now concentrates on the Uk. it buys properties or sites, develops them, holds
them for a while (and lets them out) and then sells them – often as a portfolio, says
managing director Ciaran McDonald. One of korine’s first projects was Silverstone
House in Sandyford, which the company sold in 2006. korine also developed
warehouses beside the SiSk Group’s offices on the Naas Road, Dublin.
Above: Retail units in Oxford Street, London
(left) and commercial offices in Reading Uk
(right) as seen before (bottom) and after (top)
redevelopment
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BUilDiN G a B U Si NESS
ORIGO
Origo started in 1954 (as LMC Company) with the importation and distribution
of heavy construction equipment. its origins stem from a year earlier, when – at a
trade fair in Germany – John G Sisk, always the innovator, bought Bosch power tools
for his company. A short time later he was offered the distributorship contract for
ireland and the business grew from there.
in the early 1970s the company added more products from the Bosch range: Bosch
domestic appliances, Bosch automotive products and the Bosch-owned Blaupunkt
in-car entertainment systems. “The Bosch-Origo relationship has survived to our
mutual benefit and for Bosch, it is unique in Europe”, says John O. Sisk who chaired
Origo for some 30 years. in the 1990s the company added power tool brands such
as Skil and Dremel and the garden equipment company Qualcast.
in 1999 Origo expanded again by acquiring the distribution rights for Stihl
garden equipment (including chainsaws and concrete-cutting saws) and Viking
garden machinery, which supplies a large range of garden machinery and ride-on
tractor-mowers.
Left: Stihl chainsaw at work
Above: One of the many power tools Bosch
supplies into the irish market through Origo
Opposite: Bosch’s latest range of kitchen
appliances in distinctive black
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BUilDiN G a B U Si NESS
in 2003 Origo moved into a modern distribution facility at Magna Business Park in
Citywest, Dublin (built by Sisk). This move enabled further growth, both from within
the existing portfolio and from acquisitions.
By 2005 Origo was a key supplier to kitchen, construction, garden and automotive
industries.
As well as expanding its distribution base over the years, the company has also
undergone name changes. in 1960 it switched from LMC Company to Beaver
Distribution, which came from the name of its first offices, in Beaver Row, Donnybrook.
in 2006, it was decided the name needed updating, and an in-house team undertook
the task. When the word ‘Origo’ was mooted it was universally accepted: it is the Latin
word for ‘source’ which tied in nicely with the company strategy.
Above left: Viking Tractor Mower
Above: Bosch Auto Diagnostic equipment
B raN ch i N G o U t
HEALTH CARE
in 2005 the family and board of SiSk Group made a strategic decision to further
diversify the group. The irish economy was booming and construction levels were at
an historic high, so the decision to seek opportunities in other sectors and broaden
the group’s base was a brave one by the family.
SiSk Group entered the healthcare market and over the next two years it acquired
five companies comprising more than 200 employees and a combined annual
turnover approaching €100 million.
All of the healthcare companies within SiSk Group come under the Sisk Healthcare
umbrella.
When Sisk entered the healthcare market it chose to concentrate on distribution
because it had more than 50 years’ experience in that sector through Origo, and it
understands the distribution business.
Health was identified as a growth sector in light of demographic trends indicating
that numbers in the 30 to 39 age group look set to grow by 20 per cent by 2010,
while numbers in the 18 to 25 age group are expected to drop by 17 per cent, and
ireland’s ageing population will need good healthcare.
A key element of the SiSk Group’s successful entry to the healthcare sector was its
attraction to these companies as a family business. Each of these businesses in their
own right was founder owned and managed, but ultimately a family business. Their
cultures and approaches to business were similar to those of Sisk.
Top right: Leibinger Maxilliofacial Plating
System (Tekno Surgical)
Bottom right: StarClose femoral closure
device (Synapse Medical)
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BUilDiN G a B U Si NESS
Sisk Healthcare products
1. iridex opthalmic lasers (M.E.D.
Surgical)
2. Xience drug eluting stent (Synapse
Medical)
3. Sorin iCD (Cardiac Services)
4. Stryker i-Suite (Tekno Surgical)
5. kimberly-Clark drapes, gowns and
masks (M.E.D. Surgical).
Opposite: Philips Ultrasound in critical
care setting (Cardiac Services)
3
1
4
2
5
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BUilDiN G a B U Si NESS
in March 2006 Sisk acquired Howth-based M.E.D. Surgical, which was established in
1993, and supplies and distributes surgical products to irish hospitals. The company,
which has 22 employees, distributes operating theatre products and supplies, made
by leading multinational medical device companies.
Started in 1993 by Denis McFerran, Colin Dolan and Vincent Prone, M.E.D. Surgical’s
annual sales have grown from £287,000 in the first year to around €14.5 million. The
revolution in laparoscopic treatment has been a key driver of the company’s success.
in 2006 SiSk Group acquired Cardiac Services, which was then owned by Bill
Dempsey. Bill drove its development and growth over a 30 year period. it was
founded in Belfast in 1968 and later opened offices in Dublin (1974) and Manchester
(1990). Cardiac Services has 89 employees and supplies diagnostic and therapeutic
equipment in ireland and the Uk. it also trains clinical staff in the use of its equipment.
in March 2007, the company expanded in the Uk with the acquisition of Beaver
Medical which distributes Philips cardiac diagnostics and equipment concerned
with resuscitation, ECG, monitoring and foetal monitoring.
in January 2007, Sisk bought west Dublin based company, Tekno Surgical, which
was launched in 1996 to supply orthopaedic, plastic surgery and general surgical
products in ireland. Tekno Surgical was started in 1996 by John Osborne and
Michael Connole.
Sisk’s latest acquisition was Synapse Medical in July 2007. it supplies equipment
into critical clinical areas, such as cardiology, endovascular, neuroradiology and
stroke management. Synapse Medical, which was established in 1998 by William
Costello, represents over 15 healthcare companies, and has recently secured its own
pharmaceutical licence. ■
Top left: Fraxel skin resurfacing laser (Tekno
Surgical)
Top right and opposite top right and left:
Stryker orthopaedic implants (Tekno Surgical)
Opposite bottom left: Laerdal Heartstart
FRX AED (automatic external defibrillator)
(Cardiac Services)
Opposite bottom right: ‘Rapid Response” CPR