‘No matter where you are in our organisation, Kirby will help you reach your potential’.  Henry McCann is determined to make learning and development a top priority in his time as CEO of Kirby Group Engineering, which began in January.’ 

Irish Building Magazine speak to Henry McCann, Kirby Group Engineering.

With its headquarters in Limerick, Kirby has grown to become a key leader in the international mechanical and electrical engineering and construction industries. With over 1,800 employees and turnover above €700m in 2024, the company has bases across Ireland, the UK, mainland Europe, and South Africa. Its business is focused on the Life Sciences, Industrial, Data Centre and Power & Renewables sectors. 

The Kirby leadership has successfully navigated a path of significant growth in recent years, and the company has earned its place as a trusted partner for some of the world’s biggest companies across several industries.  

To maintain those relationships and open the door to new opportunities, the Kirby team is determined to provide a home for the best talent in the market.  It has established a number of schemes to support colleagues in achieving their potential across the organisation.   

The most recent addition is a programme focused on high-potential individuals, both within existing engineering and construction teams and new recruits. It offers the next generation of leaders bespoke training, mentoring, and development in preparation for their next role. Jointly delivered by Trinity College Dublin, the Institute of Project Management, and the Kirby Academy, participants benefit from 220 hours of on-the-job, technical, and functional training, personal development, mentoring and coaching. 

Henry McCann says it’s a long-term investment: “Our colleagues in the high-potential programme have the benefit of developing over a 24-month timeline, supported by full managerial guidance and our bespoke talent development programme. Senior recruits are also allocated an executive coach to help them reach their full potential – it effectively fast-tracks their progress through their careers, to their benefit and the company’s as well. We are fully aware that people are no longer simply looking for a role with a company; they are planning their career into the future and seeking an employer who will support that. Kirby aims to be that employer for the right recruits”. 

Building a Culture of Continuous Improvement 

Henry McCann has maintained a focus on talent development throughout his 18 years with Kirby to date. One of his major achievements, in cooperation with his predecessor as CEO, Mark Flanagan, was the establishment of the Kirby Way programme.  

The two-pronged system provides structured training modules led by senior management for people across the organisation, who are then supported in their roles and processes by a fully online database which acts as a reference point for each project they’re working on.  

Henry McCann says this is the foundational programme that runs across the organisation: “We had a vision of something that would provide openness around responsibilities and promote transparent communication, and I’m delighted to say it’s working out extremely well, around ten years on.  

The key thing is that it evolves and improves based on feedback from users and the progress made in the training modules. It’s a wonderful asset. 

“At the end of the day, this programme helps us improve and refine our processes so that, no matter where in the world our sites are, the team on the ground can complete tasks and deliver for clients to a consistently high standard that aligns with our goals and the needs of our customers. This, in turn, helps us when we are looking at taking on new projects – our supply chain and customers know they can expect first-class results from Kirby, and we’re determined to maintain that for many years to come”. 

Local Roots to Global Outreach

Kirby is now more than 60 years old and recognised as operating at the forefront of sectors in which it has a presence. Its evolving identity is something Henry McCann and his team have recognised in recent years: “We’re no longer an Irish company working abroad – Kirby Group Engineering is an international company that’s proud to have its headquarters in Ireland. Our success in building relationships with global leaders has created opportunities for our teams to work on incredibly exciting projects”. He says their life sciences portfolio is a perfect example of this: 

“We’re busy working on very large pharmaceutical and medtech projects in several parts of Ireland. We bid for four big projects last year and were delighted to secure each one of them, so it’s a fantastic time to be working at Kirby. 

It’s made all the better when you think these projects are going to be helping to save lives – each of them is facilitating the development of really important drugs and/or medical devices – it’s an incredible privilege for us to be involved”. 

In line with its expanding international profile, Kirby has been growing a highly diverse workforce across the company. More than 50 nationalities are represented among its employees on sites and in offices across ten countries.  

Henry McCann is conscious of Kirby’s role in this area: “Leaders have an obligation to play their part in improving any sector. That means using technical advancements to improve outcomes for clients, but it’s also about improving the industry for the people working in it. We’re making a conscious effort to help people achieve everything they can and also to ensure engineering and construction are welcoming environments for everyone.  

Naturally, we’re aware of the traditional image of our sectors as male-dominated so we’re making particular efforts to address gender balance through a number of internal programmes, as well as outreach into second- and third-level educational institutions. This approach is also woven into our community efforts thanks to initiatives like Kirby’s recently announced sponsorship of Galway Camogie for the next five years”.  

When it comes to the future for Kirby, Henry McCann is confident that the foundations of the company will stand it in good stead, despite recent market concerns about international trade and growth levels: “We have exciting plans to further expand our footprint in the UK and Europe over the next 18 months. There are amazing innovations emerging – for example, in the semiconductor industry – and Kirby is well-placed to absorb the best of these into our practices. 

However, we are always guided by our core values, and the most important of these is ‘people’. Kirby is a people-first company, and our colleagues are the backbone of our success. This extends to our clients too, many of whom have been working with us for decades”.  

While Kirby is preparing for the future, Henry McCann says it will remain grounded in its origins: 

“Kirby Group Engineering is proud to have grown from small beginnings to be a major international organisation. Looking after our people and clients has served us well since 1964, and it will never change.”