North West Regional College’s (NWRC) Business Support Centre (BSC) has announced the completion of a cross-border innovation project with leading Donegal construction company, the McCallion Group, as part of the Co-Innovate programme.
The 1-year project, funded by the European Union's Interreg VA Programme and managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), developed and implemented a novel IT strategy, leveraging state-of-the-art technologies and academic knowledge to enhance the business’s practices and cement their place as leaders in the sector.
Dr Fergal Tuffy, Technology Innovation Manager at the NWRC’s Business Support Centre explained: “We have worked with the team at the McCallion Group for a number of years now and they continue to come forth with new ideas and innovations which we have been delighted to partner and support them on. We have developed a great working relationship, beginning with an Enterprise Ireland innovation voucher for augmented and virtual reality in construction and progressing to an InterTradeIreland Innovation Boost project to develop new construction products. We are delighted to have continued the partnership with the McCallion Group via this Co-Innovate project.”
He added: “McCallion’s required this project and support from the NWRC to research and develop a series of comprehensive and companywide IT policies and strategies specific to the challenging construction industry. This resulted in the implementation of robust solutions allowing the McCallion Group to maximise the effectiveness of its ICT systems allowing staff to seamlessly operate both locally and on site. The project has transformed McCallion Groups approach and effectiveness with regards to its use of software and hardware systems allowing the company to vastly streamline its processes.’’
Edward McKinney, Contracts Manager at the McCallion Group said: “The aim of this project was to deliver a solution which will allow our staff across various sites to effectively utilize and leverage a range of software and hardware tools to increase efficiency and maximize business performance. We are always looking at innovative ways to enhance our processes and are delighted to have secured the Co-Innovate funding from Interreg and InterTradeIreland. The project helped us embrace new technologies and secure additional contracts.’’
Carolyne Murphy, Co-Innovate Programme added: “Co-Innovate are thrilled to have supported this research and innovation project which will ultimately enhance the company’s ability to trade more effectively and efficiently providing additional business capability and ultimately increase their profitability by utilising enhanced technical knowledge and proficiency through their Co-Innovate Programme partnership with NWRC.”
For more information about the McCallion Group visit https://mccalliongroup.ie and for further details on how the BSC can help your business email businesssupport@nwrc.ac.uk or to find out more about Co-Innovate see https://co-innovateprogramme.eu/business-with-academia
