“Facilities Management: Irish firm grows on the back of expert service” – 14th July 2013 by Margaret O’Brien.
Acacia Facilities Management is a home-grown success story. Established in 2010 by a highly experienced management team with a strong track record in the facilities management sector, Acacia already numbers around 80 staff.
“There are many different types of facility management (FM) providers,” said Fergus MacMahon, operations director of Acacia. “Some provide a one-stop shop, total service; while others, like ourselves, remain consciously independent of our suppliers in order to give our clients greater choice and flexibility.” MacMahon pointed out that not only has the FM sector in Ireland grown rapidly in recent years, but in his experience clients had also become a lot more savvy. “Most clients know exactly what they want,” he said. “It’s our task to respond to the brief but in doing so, as an independent provider, we are in a position to offer our clients choice, allowing them to make informed decisions about each element of the FM solution.”
Acacia trades on its expertise. “We are not contractors, we are experts in FM. Obviously there is a big need for a service such as ours, as underpinned by our success to date.” “The cost of a service, be it cleaning, security, or catering is directly linked to the quality of the service provided. While clients are aware of that, many are also engaged in cost-cutting initiatives. Because we aren’t attached to specific service providers we [are] able to negotiate each service to match the client’s budget. “For example, we can find providers to deliver a similar service in less hours, thereby reducing costs.”
He believes that what clients like best about Acacia is its transparency. “The tendering process is all done in full view,” MacMahon said. “When it came to outsourcing its FM needs, Xerox chose Acacia because of its open and transparent business model. They liked being able to see the process and having a say in how decisions were reached.” As a resource-based model, Acacia works for a range of companies of various sizes. “For some, our work is project-based,” he said. “We procure, write up contracts, go to market, tender and appoint and that’s our work complete. However, for the majority of our clients, we continue to work with them, to manage those services we have appointed on their behalf.” A trend to have emerged in tandem with the FM sector’s growth is the demand for very specific services, such as driving cost efficiencies in the utilities and energy space, as well as in waste management and also the optimisation of office space.
With demand for FM services rising at a steady pace, MacMahon, like many in the sector, acknowledged that it could sometimes be difficult to find the right people to fill job vacancies.
Acacia Team