Category: News
Farrell ensures Health and Safety standards with ISO45001 accreditation
Following an audit carried out, the team at Farrell are delighted to have been recently awarded the internationally recognised Health & Safety standard ISO 45001:2018.
Optimising our drilling process
At Farrell, we have been putting a strong focus on lean improvements throughout Q1 of 2021, led by our Lean Coordinator, Cillian Farrell.
As the result of a recent internal project, our team has completely transformed the layout of our drilling operation within our Ardee-based manufacturing facility.
We were delighted to take delivery of a Weeke BHX500 which will complement our existing Homag & IMA drilling machines. In addition to this we have improved and optimised the flow of product through this area, as well as our programming process.
This is just one of many exciting lean projects which is currently ongoing at Farrell, as we aim to maximise the efficiency of our manufacturing process, and in turn, benefit our customers.
We look forward to sharing more of these improvements with you in the future. Stay tuned.
Farrell’s Christmas Clothing Day 2020
Gerry Murray is the inaugural winner of the annual Conor Farrell Award for Excellence in Design
Gerry Murray is a Galway native whose grandfather was a wheelwright and his father, a cabinet maker. The love of designing, crafting, and making runs deep in his family. Gerry created the Signature Collection with the Lounge Chair #352 the centre piece.
The simple silhouettes of the #352 Lounge Chair hides well the complex geometry and jointing techniques needed to construct it. The classic low-slung lines bring together beech and leather. The materials are from trusted sources with impeccable provenance which will not only ensure longevity but also aesthetically pleasing ageing. With care and attention, this study in craftsmanship and engineering will last a lifetime.
“The standard of the competition was outstanding with entries submitted and assessed from students in all years,” says Paul Leamy, Head of GMIT Letterfrack campus. “The vision is to challenge students’ creativity and hone their skills while contributing to the body of design work in GMIT Letterfrack every year. Conceived by Farrell Furniture, the award remembers a loved one and gives back to the new designers that are coming into the industry. The award was initiated in the memory of Conor Farrell and his love of design and work in the furniture industry.”
A significant part of Conor’s legacy is the commercial success of Elements, a sit stand desking range of office furniture. This range was co-designed by Conor Farrell and John Walsh of Made, www.made.ie. Collectively, Conor’s vision and Enterprise Ireland’s support helped Farrell grow at home and abroad, sustaining over 100 jobs at its manufacturing facility in Ardee, Co. Louth. Conor was a strong believer that great design is the solution to all challenges which we meet in our day-to-day activities.
The award trophy was designed and made by Jeremy Madden, lecturer at GMIT, who explains the concept. “It is set in a windswept hillside with a lone tree battling against the elements. The tree is a beacon of brilliance, simple and delicate as it manages to survive. The solid sterling silver enforces this jewel with strength as it battles with adversity tortured by the wind. The tree overcomes adversity in the open as it is on a tapered side and an undulating fall to the front. The branches are swept by the winds with exposure to the elements but it survives and we capture a moment on this landscape. The sandblasted textures of the oak match this original feel of the hillside.”
About Farrell Furniture
Founded in 1961, Farrell Furniture designs, manufactures, and supplies quality office, residential contract, and student accommodation furniture. Now in our third generation, Farrell has earned a reputation for the highest quality in design and production of customised furniture solutions across the private and public sector.
Our mission is to create value for all stakeholders by exceeding customer expectations through design, manufacture, and delivery of the best quality furniture solutions for office, residential contract and student accommodation.
About GMIT Letterfrack
GMIT has delivered third level education degree programmes in the areas of furniture design and wood technology in its Letterfrack campus since 1987. A designated National Centre of Excellence in Furniture Design and Technology, its mission is to provide a dynamic, educational environment to support students on a path of development towards creativity and expertise in furniture and wood-based technologies. Due to its reputation and award-winning students, GMIT Letterfrack graduates are highly sought after within the industry.
Media Contacts
Farrell Furniture: Kelvin Farrell, [email protected], 041 685 3418
GMIT: Regina Daly, [email protected], 091 742826
Irish International: Jenia Borkina
3 more employees successfully complete Lean Yellow Belt training
Irish International: David Wood
First up…
Meet David Wood, Head of Sales & Marketing, Contract Residential Furniture
Nationality
Northern Irish!
Birthplace
Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Ballymena and moved up the north coast to Portrush to attend the University of Ulster at Coleraine.
What did you want to be when you were a child?
For most of my childhood I was a keen farmer. When I moved away from home, I realised that the options available to me were much greater outside a career in agriculture. That got me thinking!
What is your official job title?
Head of Sales and Marketing, Contract Residential Business.
What do you actual do?
The majority of my time is spent in the UK promoting and selling Farrell’s residential products and services. Over the past few years, I have been spending more time in Ireland doing the same to the home market with the Irish team. We have small closely focused teams, working both in Ireland and the UK.
Where are you mostly based today with work?
I am based in our UK office. It is a lovely old converted formed Primary School in a rural village in North Yorkshire, between Leeds and York. I really like working from there.
What do you like about your job?
Being in Sales and getting out and about all over the country it’s about seeing new places and meeting new people. There is literally no part of Ireland or the UK that I have not visited – our projects are spread out far and wide. We even completed a project a few years ago on the Isle of Benbecula, a remote Hebridean Island off the West Coast of Scotland. Just prior to that we completed the furnishing of a large international school in Dilijan, Central Armenia!
What is your favourite hobby / past-time?
I enjoy watching Rugby and spending time with our dogs and horses.
What is your ‘guilty pleasure’?
A few pints in our local village pub catching up with friends and family is a rare but welcome treat.
Who is/was your idol / role model?
My old History teacher at school. He is a work hard and play hard man and did not suffer fools lightly! He still enjoys a few pints on match day at our local Rugby club in Ballymena.
What is the one thing you are most proud of?
Having the courage to leave Ireland and my family during very difficult times and seek out new opportunities and make a new family life in the UK. I am very proud of our family and my Irish wife and two grown up children who were born in England but see themselves as part of an Irish family.
What do you like most about working for an Irish Company?
Irish companies have a slightly different outlook and approach to those in the UK. Being Irish you can associate and understand the way they operate. It is all about the Customer and the experience and making sure we are putting them first and enjoying what we do!
What is your personal experience of working at Farrell?
As a family business you learn very quickly that the way to get things done is to explain and deliver on the benefits of looking after the customer. Do a good job and leave the customer feeling good about his experience and he will always come back.
What do you think about the Furniture Manufacture sector?
It is less about product and more about service in our sector. Our business has become more of a service provider and less of a product provider and the trend is moving very much towards a “one stop shop “approach. Farrell understand the change that has occurred in our sector and as a business we have become much more critical and selective in our approach to securing and delivering on New Business.
What Irish-traits do you think you have (if any)?
Loyalty, hard work and a good old sense of humour.
What do you miss most (if anything) about your home/country/town/place you are from?
I really miss being able to go down the town and know and be able to chat with nearly everyone you meet. We have lived there for 35 years and in the same small village for the past twenty years and we still only know a handful of the locals. As they say in Yorkshire, you’re not a local until you have at least five generations buried in the graveyard!
Farrell increases Lean knowledge with employee Lean Yellow Belt training
