Solid foundations provided by Mc Garrity Bros Carrickmore

A beautiful sunny Monday afternoon in the scenic rolling hills of Inishative in Carrickmore proved to be time well spent for Year 13 Construction students from Omagh CBS. The students were welcomed by the accommodating and impressive staff of Mc Garrity’s Brothers who currently manufacture and supply concrete products locally, nationally as well as into the UK.

The Year 13 students were in the final stages of their AS course and were working towards their final exam. The key objective for the visit was to gain a practical insight of materials in the construction industry. It was hoped that students would gain knowledge and understanding of concrete, experience first-hand the manufacturing and processing of concrete and how its manufacture impacts on key properties and fitness for purpose. We also hoped to look at sustainability issues and embedded energy in concrete product manufacture, related employment as well as Health and safety issues. The visit certainly superseded our expectations.

There was an extensive range of products and materials to view including Ready-mix Concrete/Blocks, Sand and Gravel, Precast Hollow core Floor-slabs, Cattle Slats and miscellaneous Pre-cast products such as lintels, cills and kerbs for New build, groundworks and agriculture. Ryan & Fearghal from Mc Garrity’s were excellent ambassadors for the company as they facilitated the students in seeing every aspect of their expansive and impressive facility. They both provided an informative and factual presentation coupled with generosity of time and information as we wandered around the batching plant, where we looked at raw ingredients bins, Portland cement silo, admixtures bins and the automated computer system. Latest technology was also in evident in the concrete block production yard, precast factory and impressive storage facilities. It was bonus to get to see the use of renewable energies in action.

The year 13 students are on one of two BTEC construction Diploma courses offered at CBS. These boys aspire to go into the management side of the industry, in roles such as Project Managers, Site Engineers, Quantity Surveyors and Architects. These popular courses are proving to be a fantastic platform to progress onto third level education, further training and apprenticeships within the Construction Industry. A key part of the successful delivery is enabling students to get an insight into the industry in which they hope to work, through work experience and site visits, so the CBS are indebted to Mc Garrity Brothers for their positivity and professionalism in facilitating this requirement, namely Mrs Donna Donaghy, Mr Noel Mc Garrity, Mr John Mc Garrity, Mr Ryan Mc Garrity & Mr Fearghal Mc Garrity.  Mc Garrity brothers are only to be commended for their top-quality products, 1^st class personal service as well as the warm beanies and pens provided for all.