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New Winner

Pride in their people puts Coen Steel at the top of their game

Sustainability and a customer-centric ethos is at the forefront of Coen Steel’s delivery in 2024, writes Siobhán Maguire

Trading over 135 years, and now a fourth-generation family business, Coen Steel has much to celebrate beyond the longevity of its business. Last year, the company, which provides sustainable steel solutions for their construction and engineering partners, completed a significant expansion of its production facility In Oranmore, County Galway. And with a focus on sustainability, Coen Steel also became the first stockholder of zero carbon steel and the first steel production facility powered by solar energy in Ireland. With much to be proud of, the senior leadership team embarked on an eight month Enterprise Ireland Strategic growth programme to help challenge and redefine the company’s strategic thinking.

From there a comprehensive Strategic Roadmap and Growth Action Plan was developed, identifying key deliverables to enable the business to achieve its growth objectives over the next five years. And according to Michelle Farrow, Chief Financial Officer at Coen Steel, it was these very ambitions and strategic insights that inspired an application for Ireland’s Best Managed Companies programme. “Our strategic roadmap encompassed the areas of Innovation, sustainability, culture and governance, very much aligning to the pillars within the Best Managed Company framework,” she said. “We therefore thought it was the opportune time to enter the programme, to validate our strategic plan in terms of approach and alignment of goals. We also relished the opportunity to build relationships with and learn from like- minded companies as part of the Best Managed Company Programme, as well as having the opportunity to reflect and celebrate our achievements to date of our dedicated and committed team.”

Excellence and innovation

Throughout its history Coen Steel has maintained a reputation for excellence, innovation, and industry leadership, focused on delivering innovative and sustainable steel solutions for their construction and engineering partners. Going into the programme, Farrow said the company’s intention was to receive as much guidance and advice as possible from their coaches. To win, however, was to bring an overwhelming sense of achievement across the entire business. “There is a great sense of pride to win the award and to receive the acknowledgement that our continued focus on innovation and delivering exceptional customer service has been recognised by the Best Managed Companies programme,” she commented. “Winning is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the team, many of which have worked for the company for decades.”

The process gave us a deeper understanding of our customer, people, process and local communities, and the validation that our strategic plans are aligned, ensuring the business is best placed to deliver future growth for the company, its employees and its customers. Like many other new winners, this was the first time Coen Steel had applied for the programme. Farrow said having the programme evaluate how the company is performing against its pillars including innovation, sustainability and governance, was invaluable. “The application process was quite daunting to start with, as this is the first time we have embarked on such an award, but our coaches worked hand in hand with us throughout the process, which we found hugely beneficial,” she added. “They examined our inputs into the process, prompting us to really challenge our thinking, to ensure we maximized the potential returns from our strategic plans and from the process itself. Innovation and being the market leader are in the DNA of our company. The strategy of re-investing profits to drive growth is pivotal in ensuring the company has the capabilities and resources to drive innovation. This means we are uniquely positioned to continuously meet the specialised needs of our valued clients. We are a progressive company with a continued focus on being leaders in our field and building a business that enables us to adapt to current markets, scale and grow. Our focus on achieving first mover status and delivering innovation is demonstrated throughout our 135-year history.”

Expansion and scaling

Farrow said last year’s expansion was coupled with substantial investments in modern machinery and digital technology, positioning them to be able to scale operations efficiently to deliver on strategic goals. “By leveraging our state-of-the-art production facility and digital technology we can act as specialist in detailing, cut and bending and pre-fabrication, providing our construction partners with tailored one stop shop construction solutions,” Farrow continued. “Some of the biggest challenges facing the construction industry at present are labour and skills shortages, material and transport costs and ensuring projects are delivered to exact timeframes and within tight budgets. Our tailored one stop shop, design, manufacturing and fabrication solutions coupled with our industry leading expertise, enables our partners to reduce on-site labour and increase efficiency, ensuring projects are delivered on time and within budget. This offering sets us apart from our competitors and ensures we continue to provide our partners with exceptional customer service and tailored solutions.”

She said sustainability has always been at the forefront of Coen Steel’s operations and as such is an integral part of the company’s strategic plan. “In 2023 we were awarded the industry leading CARES Sustainable Constructional Steel (SCS) accreditation,” she said. “The accreditation provides our customers with full transparency and assurance that the steel products they are using are produced in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. To further demonstrate our commitment to sustainability we were delighted to announce that we are the first stockholder of zero carbon steel in Ireland. The products are made of recycled steel and produced with fossil-free electricity and biogas – resulting in steels with virtually no fossil carbon emissions. We further aim to be utilising fossil- free steel by 2026 and are excited to be part of the transformation of the steel and construction landscape. We are also first steel production facility in Ireland to run on solar energy.

Positive family values

Being a fourth generation family run business, the culture in Coen Steel is reflective of the familial values of trust, respect, passion, team and communication, according to Farrow. “One of the many benefits of being a family-owned business is that that David and Derek Coen, along with the rest of the management team, lead by example, displaying our core values, which underpins our culture and ensures it will be sustained going forward,” she said. “Their hands-on approach to the business supports an open-door approach to communication with all members of the team engaging with the management team in an informal way.This culture of open communication, along with respect for people’s ideas and opinions, means that the business can react quickly to opportunities, further giving us the edge over our competitors. Our colleagues have worked for many years, showing continuity and stability in our workforce and our commitment to the team. We strive to go to the next level in dealing with our customers and show strong flexibility and adaptability in all aspects of the business. “With the average years of service for the office-based team being 13 years and with over 40 per cent of the team having been part of the Coen Steel team for over 20 years, the culture of going the extra mile is in the DNA of its employees, with a strong sense of trust and loyalty. We have a passion and desire to succeed, and this is paramount to our continued growth.”

See the original article in the Sunday Business Post