Telfords Portlaoise was named the winner of the overall Octabuild Award for Excellence at the 2024 all-island Octabuild Builders Merchant Excellence Awards.
The company also won the Leinster Regional Award at the ceremony which was held on Thursday, October 17, 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.
Octabuild was established in 1984 and is unique among representative groups in the building and construction industry.
The objective of the group is to promote the benefits of high quality, Irish manufactured products. Each Octabuild company is committed to excellence in providing an efficient and reliable service to builders merchants.
Telfords Portlaoise 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, they’ve implemented efficient systems such as enhanced return policies, SEO strategies, and daily inventory checks. Safety improvements include smoke detectors, defibrillators, and air-conditioning. 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.
This year builders merchants competed for five Individual Category Awards, four Regional Awards and a Rising Star Award, which acknowledged up-and-coming talent in the industry.
Guest of honour at the awards was Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Micheál Martin.
Photo : Chris Bellew / Fennell Photography
He 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 Chairperson, Declan Conlon for such a great event.”
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
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
