The versatility of steel is amply demonstrated in the exciting achievements of an award-winning manufacturing company, whose work at the Chelsea Flower Show hit international headlines.
The Company
Since its beginnings in 1998, Nugent Manufacturing has grown into a leading manufacturing company occupying an 11,000 square foot, purpose-built workshop in Naas, County Kildare. In 2015 the company was the Small Firms Association National Business Awards winner in the Energy & Environmental Sustainability category.
The Projects - Weird and Wonderful
Stephen Nugent, the company's founder and director, comments that 'nothing is too weird or wonderful for Jamestown'. So, the partnership worked well when Nugent were commissioned to manufacture some extraordinary steel components for Diarmuid Gavin's 'Sky Garden', which won a Gold Award at the 2011 Chelsea Flower Show. Central to this creation was a giant pink steel eye, inspired by the film 'Avatar', which was suspended 82 feet over the rest of the garden.
Another notable collaboration was on sculptor Bob Quinn's art work 'The Way Ahead', installed in 2013 on the Mullingar Bypass at Glongrowney. Cut from steel with a weathered finish, it is an abstract representation of Aoibh, the mother of the Children of Lir.
Why Jamestown?
Jamestown's customer focus has been a key element in their successful relationship with Nugent. In addition to their shared capacity for the weird and the wonderful, Nugent value Jamestown's quick reaction times and their professionalism. For the abstract sculpture, Jamestown's ability to use water-jet cutting was a key factor.
The Partnership
Mr. Nugent describes his company's successful relationship with Jamestown in these words:
"Certainly, without Jamestown there is a lot of work we couldn’t take on. We are treated equally and of the same importance as some of their bigger clients."