No 7: Designer Group Engineering

Founded in 1992 on its electrical engineering excellence, Designer Group is now a leading innovative and sustainable provider of mechanical, electrical and instrumentation engineering solutions and celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2022.

Total Turnover:

€202,300,000 (Estimated)

ROI Turnover:

€125,426,000

International Turnover:

€76,874,000

The business provides trusted MEP expertise for clients on an international scale across Ireland, the UK, Europe, Africa and North America, with a client base spread over 14 sectors.

A reliable partner of choice, Designer Group’s capability spans small-scale works through to projects exceeding €75m. It has a vast portfolio of sophisticated and challenging projects across the pharmaceutical, data centre, manufacturing, commercial, life sciences, infrastructure and energy sectors. Designer Group’s precision of work, optimisation of design, personable approach and the strictest adherence to protocols and regulations have built its longstanding reputation in the industry.

Designer Group investing in people

Designer Group employs a dedicated team of over 1,000 staff, including over 500 expertly trained operatives, and through its supply chain, it supports the employment of hundreds more. The value the team brings to its clients is evident in the large quantity of repeat business Designer Group has been awarded over the years. The business promotes a strong culture of learning and development, most recently launching its global ‘Leadership Programme’ of bespoke courses designed to support existing and future leaders demonstrating high performance and clear potential for progression.

Engineering the future

The business has been involved in some of the most cutting-edge renewable energy projects, supporting a cleaner energy future through the design and build of complex infrastructure for generation, transmission and distribution systems. It pushes the boundaries in delivering sustainable environments, utilising the latest building information modelling (BIM) cutting-edge technology and software, and reflecting the need to balance the impact of construction on our collective futures while maximising the value of its clients’ assets.

Designer Group puts innovation at the core of its service, utilising off-site fabrication and modular construction, working from the assumption that all services can be prefabricated when designing and procuring, improving productivity, maximising quality and progressing sustainability in a controlled environment.

Designer Group projects

Designer Group’s latest international milestone projects include expansion into the Nordics and Latin America, adding to its global presence; delivering the first of six phases of a mission-critical 36MW data centre facility near Oslo, powered with 100% renewable energy; and a large distillery expansion in Mexico, with extensive prefabrication in Europe. The group has also recently commenced work on phase 2 of the Oslo data centre.

Other stand-out current projects include One Nine Elms landmark towers, which, on completion, will be the tallest residential towers in Europe, with panoramic views of London across the River Thames – another project using cutting-edge prefabrication technology for leaner, greener and safer operations.

In the coming months in Ireland, having maintained momentum and safe working practices throughout the pandemic, Designer Group will be completing works on the Forensic Sciences Laboratories, Dublin – a sophisticated and challenging life sciences project of over 100,000 sq feet. Additionally, the group is delighted to have achieved the first steam production at the end of June this year for Tusker Brewery in Nairobi, Kenya, where the team completed the full engineering, procurement and construction of a brand new sustainable biomass installation.

Designer Group vision

Designer Group anticipates continued growth to 2025 and beyond, with a strong order book of tier-one clients and a great range of projects in the pipeline. It is also actively recruiting new apprentices and bringing in new graduate engineers and surveyors to support its big growth plans.

Looking ahead, Michael Stone, Chief Executive Officer, Designer Group, says: “Designer Group will continue to invest heavily in our people, upskilling our employees and committing to resourcing technological advancements and sustainable developments. By doing this, we will have better project cooperation, compliance, teamwork, workplace efficiencies, and continue to improve our service offering for clients.”