Soudal Ireland has been in operation since 2019. Previously known as Seal Systems, Soudal has grown each year from strength to strength. Located in Blanchardstown, Dublin 15, the company has a small but effective team that continues to grow.
The Hardware Journal speaks to Managing Director, David Farrell, who notes the resilience of the team during challenging times: “Like many others Covid was a challenging time, however, we persevered and began to grow our customer base.”, David continues, “As Soudal is a family-owned business building long-lasting relationships with all our customers is a priority for our company. We truly value our customers and are proud of the relationships we build.”
Products
Soudal supplies to both retail and professional users and have a wide variety of products. “We excel at innovation and unique products at Soudal with ranges designed with ease of use in mind.”, says David, who further explains their products and their suitability to the sector: “Lines such as our patented Genius Gun and Easy Sealants make DIY a dream.
While products such as Silirub sealant and SWS Foam offer outstanding quality and performance for our professional users. We offer every type of product for every type of job. From expanding foams, sealants, adhesives, and more.”
Soudal have a showroom at their offices, where their highly trained sales team can talk customers through all the ins and outs of all products. As some of the team were with the previous company which distributed Soudal products they have been working with Soudal products for over 20 years and can offer expert advice. This expertise and industry knowledge has helped the company increase its scale, and its products can now be found in most national retailers including Woodies nationwide.
Another important value at Soudal is sustainability and innovation. “We believe in building the future sustainably and have created ways of adapting our products to make them more sustainable.”, explains David, “To do this we have developed several solvent-free product families such as T-Rex Adhesive.
These water-based formulas are just as high quality and durable as any other Soudal product while being less harmful to people and the environment. Many of our products are also EC1 + certified, including our parquet adhesives, silicones, hmx sealants, and numerous hybrid adhesives.”.
While ranges such as their Fix All and Flooring Adhesive also come in 75% PCR (post-consumer recycled material) packaging and cartridges these are just a few of the ways Soudal are
working towards a greener future.
“We have an amazing team with vast knowledge of the industry.”, praises David. Soudal have recently expanded their team which they hope to continue to do in the future.
David believes that Soudal’s trained and friendly staff are the company’s biggest asset. “Three of our team members have been working with Soudal for over 20 years and are still adapting and learning with each new innovative product. Our team is known to be the friendly can-do type and will solve any problem”.
Among our current team are three long-standing employees, Jackie Garvey, Soudal’s head of finance, who has been with the company 23 years and “always comes to work with a huge smile”. Glenn Williams is Soudal’s Sales manager who has been selling Soudal products for 23 years, and who, according to David, “has the most knowledge on all the Soudal products and the industry as he has always loved the building industry.”, supporting the team with his product knowledge and sharing his passion for the company.
Gavin O’Toole, Soudal’s warehouse and production manager has been with Soudal for 22 years. Gavin manages all stock in and out including deliveries and stock management. Gavin says about his time – “Every day is different even after 22 years, although our growth over the past three years has been amazing to see. We truly believe in the products and what we can offer and love to see the results from happy customers who we have been in business with for many years. We have a great team, and we are so happy to see Soudal Ireland getting the recognition it deserves. Here’s to 22 more years with Soudal, I hope we continue to grow and I’m glad to be a part of it”.
The Soudal team is proud of reaching amazing new heights this year, with a 30% increase from last year. “This year we really pushed to get our brand out there and increase our customer base.”, explains David, “This has been a key part of our success this year and it was a team effort from the warehouse to sales to finance, working together to achieve this goal.”
David went on to note that the quality of their products also have a large part to play in their growth:” We have pride in knowing that our products are of the highest standard and that we have a wide range to choose from.”
Brand Awareness
Over the last three years the team have had to overcome a lot of barriers, one main one being low brand awareness.
“Although Soudal had built up long-lasting relationships when it was the previous company, these customers were all professional end users, and we had no retail presence and low brand awareness.”, says David, who went on to explain that the team shifted focus to using demo mornings and showcases to get customers interested in their products. “We also invested in branding and creating a clear brand message.”.
“We also focus on our merchandising thanks to our great sales team, who always keep every store immaculately merchandised and fully stocked.”, praises David.
The team are very active on social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook. “Here we like to show products’ key features, introduce our team and share helpful content with tips and tricks.”, explains marketing executive Amy McShane, “We also have monthly emails out to our customers with promotions and new launches. We have big plans for 2023 so be sure to keep an eye on our social media.”
USP
The team’s hard work over recent years have helped to get the company to the position to cater to both professional users and its retail DIY consumers. “Our DIY ranges offer easy applications, in smaller sizes for small jobs, and are user-friendly.”, David continues, “Our professional range offers larger sizes such as our eco-friendly foil sausages for large jobs and cannot be beaten on quality and price.”
“Our USP is that we offer amazing service at every touchpoint.”, explains David, “You are guaranteed to get through to one of our friendly and well-trained staff to chat about the products. Once an order is in, you can expect fast and easy delivery. And most of all when using our product, you can expect top-quality and long-lasting results.”
For further information contact enquiries.ireland@soudal.com and www.soudal.ie.
