Established in the 1950s to supply sand and gravel to the local Irish market, the company now owns a quarry and concrete plant. A 65-acre site in the heart of Ireland, Birr in the County Offaly, presents Loughnane Concrete with complex challenges and difficult weather and landscape conditions. This has led the business to rely on BKT tyres, creating a partnership united by a strong focus on sustainability.
Christy Loughnane, Managing Director at Loughnane Concrete and the company's heartbeat, is an expert in the industry. His vocational path has been interwoven with the growth, progress and challenges characterising Loughnane Concrete and making it an established business in Ireland that provides a wide range of products such as block- and ready-mix concrete, sand, gravel, and quarry stone aggregates as well as urban paving and construction materials.
"Today, we can say that we have a solid customer base in civil engineering, construction, and agriculture. Yet, over the years, we have had to deal with enormous changes in the marketplace and have encountered some complex moments ranging from environmental and regulatory issues, as well as a lack of skilled labour, to periods of economic recession, including the most severe one in 2010 that almost cornered us," Christy says.
In addition, there are the typical complexities of the company's environment, namely the quarry, where it is essential to have reliable equipment and means that meet all safety requirements without compromising productivity whilst minimising downtime. This is why the company has invested heavily in state-of-the-art machinery and maintenance operations. It is a commitment that Loughnane Concrete pursues by means of a team effort based on passion and progress, and this is where the BKT tyres, which are known for their performance in terms of traction, grip, stability, and durability, come into play.
"We mainly use three loaders and four dumpers for our operations, but this is an environment that strains our equipment in all aspects"- Christy continues. "So, at the suggestion of our distributor well over 10 years ago, we decided to rely on specific BKT tyres for the mining sector. Today, we can say that we are extremely satisfied with their performance and the high quality of the BKT products."
Loughnane Concrete has specifically chosen tyres from the EARTHMAX range: EARTHMAX SR 50, made of a special cut-resistant compound that reduces wear while ensuring increased durability; EARTHMAX SR 30, which offers excellent traction, stability, and durability thanks to multi-ply steel belts and a rigid block design; and finally, EARTHMAX SR 41 provides many hours of operation, puncture resistance, and comfort for transport, loading, and grading applications.
Besides ensuring the safety of its operations and working environment, Loughnane Concrete puts another major issue at the centre of its business activities, namely sustainability, which aligns with the green energy transition process undertaken by Offaly County. Indeed, the company supplies road materials to construct wind turbines that will contribute to creating several wind farms. But that's not all. "We do try to play our part by collecting the water from the construction site in special basins for reuse in our material cleaning plant. The water employed for the cleaning process is then pumped into settling ponds and reused. We care about the environment around us and the well-being of the people who live in this area," Christy says.
Despite a historically male-dominated environment, Loughnane Concrete has also championed inclusion by welcoming the arrival of Rachel Dermody, who has been part of the company for five years. Rachel is qualified to drive heavy equipment such as dump trucks and loaders and is currently practising for her excavator driver's license.
"I think the biggest challenge has been with myself, especially because not everyone is used to seeing a woman in such work settings. But as soon as you start feeling comfortable in your job, it all gets easier. I believe that anyone with persistence and determination can do it," remarks Rachel, who also points out the improved comfort of modern machinery, starting with that provided by BKT tyres, which make the equipment more comfortable and optimal in terms of traction.
"Compared to a few years ago, machinery is easier to operate and much more stable. I feel much safer even though we operate on rough and steep terrain, especially at the bottom of the quarry. In this regard, the tyres help us a lot by giving us the reliability and comfort we need," she concludes.
Watch the the excellent BKT Stories film featuring Loughnane Concrete here: BKT Meets Loughnane Concrete: BKT Meets Loughnane Concrete | BKT Tires (bkt-network.com)
