At the Machinery Movers Magazine Industry & Operator Awards for 2021, 400 guests from across the Irish and UK construction equipment manufacturers, distributors, attachment providers, machine control systems and plant hirers, gathered to celebrate the work of plant operators.
In addition to this recognition the publication was pleased and indeed proud, to announce Patrick ‘Paddy’ Flannery as the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award.
In a citation read by publisher Brian Coogan, Paddy’s early days were recalled. Arriving in England on a wet Sunday in the early 1970’s, Paddy started work as a labourer that next day and has never stopped working since.
Paddy saved £3,000 and borrowed £2,000 more to buy his first machine, a JCB 3C, so just 3 years after arriving to dig trenches with a shovel, a new business, now had a new, bigger shovel.
The event audience were told Paddy was totally driven… it was like an addiction when he was buying machines and building the business. Paddy never let anyone down and as a result customers came back for more.
The story was told that son Martin remembers his dad telling him as a child, that one day he would have 100 machines. Today Flannery Plant Hire has more than 3,500 machines and over 1,400 Plant Operators.
In accepting the accolade Paddy was joined by his wife Mary and sons Patrick and Martin plus daughters Julie and Maria. Indeed the Flannery party totalled more than 30, with representation from a number of plant operators, from those early Flannery years.
Flannery Plant Hire is typified by a wider family feel, the people that made and make the business what it is today. Brian went on to talk about the company evolving into the brand that it is recognised as today.
The operator hub in Birmingham, recruiting, retraining and upskilling plant operators to be the safest and most qualified in the industry.
The passion for safety, innovation and the environment that delivers value for clients, ensuring everyone goes home safe, every day.
The commitment to a digital construction future making work more effective and efficient.
So many congratulations to Paddy Flannery, a decent, humble family man who has spent a lifetime in plant hire. The industry salutes you.
