Economy Minister Simon Hamilton MLA has announced that the McAvoy Group is investing nearly £10million to consolidate its position as one of the leading offsite modular construction companies in the UK.
Headquartered in Dungannon, the McAvoy Group which delivers fast-track design and build projects comprising permanent buildings, extensions to existing buildings and hire modules has plans to grow its turnover to £100million by 2020. The multi-million pound investment over the next 4 years will enable the company to grow its Permanent Modular Construction Division, replenish its Hire Division stock, invest in new IT infrastructure as well as creating 38 new roles.
Invest Northern Ireland has offered an Employment Grant of £198,000 to support the creation of 18 of the jobs and £135,000 under it Skills Growth Programme towards the company’s training activities.
Welcoming the investment including the new jobs Minister Hamilton said: “The McAvoy Group has been a leading player within the offsite modular construction sector in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland for a number of years.
“The company is driving forward a robust growth strategy targeting new clients and procurement frameworks in the healthcare, education, residential and commercial markets. This multi-million pound investment will help the company to achieve its ambitious growth targets as well as contributing additional salaries to the local economy.
“The McAvoy Group’s anticipated sales growth will also have a positive knock-on effect on the local construction industry supply chain which is vitally important to the Northern Ireland economy.”
Commending the company on their continued commitment to invest in innovation and skills development, Simon Hamilton added: “The McAvoy Group is a great example of a local company achieving significant growth as a result of their ongoing commitment to invest in innovation and skills development. With support from Invest NI’s Skills Growth Programme the company is undertaking a leadership and talent management programme, which will ensure that its senior staff are equipped with the skills they need to deliver against the company’s growth targets.”
The McAvoy Group currently employs 170 people and has offices in the UK and Ireland. 24 of the 38 roles are in place with the roles being in both the company’s Dungannon and Lisburn offices.
Eugene Lynch, Managing Director of the McAvoy Group, said: “This investment is focused on growing our permanent modular construction division and consolidating the company as a key player in the UK market. The new roles are in design, contract and cost management positions and we plan to recruit a further 14 jobs as well as graduates and apprentices roles over the next 12 months.
“We have been successfully operating as a principal contractor in recent years and this strategic development is aimed at replicating our success in the education sector within other sectors.”
Over the past 44 years McAvoy has delivered more than 3million m2 of modular accommodation for the education, health, commercial, infrastructure and hospitality sectors. The company recently handed over an £18million project for Goresbrook School in Dagenham, London and is currently working on a £20million project Lynch Hill School in Slough – one of the UK’s largest ever offsite modular constructed Secondary Schools.