Kirby Group Engineering is on track to record revenues of €700 million this year as the Limerick-headquartered company prepares for changes at the top of the organisation.
Current chief executive Mark Flanagan will step down in January to take on a new role of executive director following five years of strong growth. He will be replaced as chief executive by group operations director Henry McCann, from January through the group’s structured succession planning system.
Executive chair Jimmy Kirby will remain in that role and continue to oversee the development of the Irish group’s recently-opened office in South Africa.
Kirby Group focuses on electrical and mechanical engineering, working for clients in the life sciences, data centre, industrial, power and renewables businesses.
The company earned revenues of more than €636 million last year and is poised to boost that to €700 million in 2024. It now employs 1,800 people. Tom and Michael Kirby founded the group in 1964.
Mr Flanagan joined the company as an apprentice in 1995 and held different posts in contracts and project management on his way to becoming CEO.
He noted that the last five years had put Kirby in a strong position. “Nowhere is this approach more evident than in how we focus on having the right leadership and people in place through our succession planning,” he said.
The company noted that Mr Flanagan had led it through an “unprecedented period of profitable growth and international expansion, establishing it as a key leader in the international mechanical and electrical engineering and construction industry”.
Mr McCann said that aiding the group’s workers in reaching their full potential would be a priority during his term as chief executive. He joined the company 18 years ago and has worked in various roles at Kirby Group during that time.
The group has been expanding in recent years, into the UK, mainland Europe and South Africa in 2023.
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