Pictured above l-r are Ross O’Colmain and Rob Fox
Ross O’Colmain
Manager, High Tech and Construction, Enterprise Ireland
Having spent a decade as part of Enterprise Ireland’s overseas team, initially working on the Middle East desk in Dublin before managing offices in Toronto and New York, Ross O’Rolmain now manages EI’s activities for the high tech construction and housing sectors. He has also worked for IDA Ireland and the Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment.
‘The mega trend towards off-site construction is really exciting and holds huge potential for Ireland. Major MNCs are demanding greater levels of off-site delivery on their projects. I believe Irish companies have the track record and the ability to deliver this internationally. By building greater levels of complexity and value into modules they can become exportable to projects all over the world – ultimately creating regional manufacturing jobs in Ireland. On the residential side we need to embrace off-site as a means of gaining productivity to alleviate skills and sustainability challenges. Enterprise Ireland is supporting companies to do just this through its Built To Innovate campaign.’
Rob Fox
CEO and Founder, Site Passport Supply Chain
A Chartered Civil Engineer, Rob Fox worked for over 20 years in Main Contracting in Ireland and Australia, as a Senior Contracts Manager. He founded Site Passport Supply Chain in 2017 to provide main contractors and property developers with a smarter and more streamlined way of managing their procurement and supply chain. Having raised €500,000 in 2022, the company is now set to expand into the UK and European construction markets.
‘Data capture and data analytics. Everyone knows that better information leads to better decision making which leads to better outcomes. In construction, highly complex and important decisions are made every day that significantly impact the success or failure of a project. An example of this is choosing a unique set of subcontractors and suppliers that are the best match for the unique requirements of each project. The ability to accurately match the capability and capacity of every subcontractor to those unique requirements, depends on having accurate real-time data, and the tools to analyse that data.’
