A Newry man who has followed in his father’s career footsteps has described how the trade he was brought up with became ‘his passion project’.
Starting in trade work at just 14 years old, Liam Connell, spent evenings after school, holidays and weekends helping out his father’s fitting floors.
“Believe it or not but growing up it wasn’t a job I wanted or planned to do,” he said. “My initial plan was to become a brick layer but then with the floor fitting I sort of just got roped into it and ended up sticking with it.
“While the initial plan was brick laying, I soon realised that it was a weather dependent job and flooring was a much more secure career because you don’t need to rely on the weather.”
“I started my career in the industry officially with Jim Toner, Edward Street, Newry. I witnessed and learnt a lot from Jim over the years on how he ran his business and to that I am thankful.”
After leaving Newry, Liam wanted a change of scenery and moved to Belfast where he spent much of his adult life – 12 years in a place not too far from home!
Over his career span in Belfast, Liam worked in several different industry jobs before deciding to make a go of it on his own.
Starting out with one van on the road and the back full of sample books, Liam began advertising his work to help get his name out there and flooring work began to come in.
Originally starting off as a side line, on weekends and evenings, Liam was still focused on sub-contracting work and operating his new business outside of his working hours.
Then by chance, the opportunity for the historic Bessbrook Mill came up for lease. Originally a Linen Mill, it was then converted into Bessbrook Army Barracks before lying derelict for my years.
Needing a base to store products and large shipments, the Mill seemed too good to be true and with slight refurbishments needed, Liam and his team of tradesmen got to work adapting the iconic premises.
With the Mill used as a storying facility and ample space to extend in the future, Liam decided to take the next step and open his own show room, L Connell Flooring.
With a new roof, electric fittings, lights, flooring and carpet stands, Liam spent months refurbishing the unit while still trying to keep the old features similar – with the showroom located in a large warehouse which back in the day was used to mechanic old Land and Range Rovers for the Army barracks!
The extension allowed Liam to purchase products in bulk container shipments, meaning more materials to choose from and quicker fitting turnaround.
Liam says success of the job hasn’t happened over night and the showroom itself was a long work in progress.
Said Liam: “When I first started out on my own, I made a few mistakes, which I learnt from quickly – I like to think it’s helped the business develop more. I started out on my own before hiring my first staff member, a joiner who worked alongside me for eight years and then two more men joined the team.
“Over the years, demand has just grown and grown and I have went from a one man band to employing five other men with the ambition to grow the business further afield over the coming years.
“Really any money I’ve made over the years I have put back into the business which I hope will help in the long-term.”
Starting out with small sample booklets, L Connell Flooring now has over 500 products across flooring with carpets, vinyl and 150 choices of wooden floors in stock and ready to go.
Fitting services offered include: Carpet, vinyl, wood laminate flooring, sanding and sealing and artificial grass.
L Connell Flooring offer both domestic and contract work all throughout Northern Ireland and bordering counties.
The showroom is by appointment only – with appointments available Monday – Saturday.
“The beauty of an appointment based business, is it allows me to keep the overheads down and pass on those savings to the end user. The appointment time is bespoke to you and means customers are getting my full attention.”
Testimony to their great work and service provided, L Connell Flooring has almost 400 glowing Facebook reviews with 100% recommendation.
You can read their L Connell Floorings reviews and follow them on Facebook by clicking here.
