EPH Controls impresses with €15m headquarters by Cork's Kinsale Road

Cork company continuing to make waves in Ireland and UK

The impressive new EPH Controls site by the Kinsale Road roundabout in Cork. Picture: Noel Sweeney

More than 100,000 cars pass the Kinsale Road roundabout and flyover every day. The €15m new headquarters of Cork company EPH Controls alongside the motorway has been turning heads since the company moved in.

EPH is now the market leader in the Irish heating controls industry. What started out as a distribution business, literally out of a wheelbarrow, has become a true Cork success story, a €50m business making its mark on industry across Ireland and the UK, employing 55 people.

EPH Controls products are used in gas and oil heating systems, heat pumps, underfloor pumps and heating; school controls, light commercial valves, and actuators.

In straitened times, amid surging energy prices sparked by the conflict in the Middle East, Cork heating controls company EPH continues to thrive. “We are not immune to recession, but in times of fuel prices going up, people want to save money, and the first thing they can look at is their utility bill,” explains founder and chief executive Trevor Casey.

“One of the easiest ways to save money is to install a modern heat control – it makes sense.”

Earlier this year, the company moved into its state-of-the-art headquarters on Kinsale Road, a site purchased for around €1m and which has undergone a €15m investment.  The distinctive 55,000 sq ft premises is up and running with operations having moved from the company’s old offices in the Sitecast Industrial Estate.

Trevor Casey, managing director and founder of EPH Controls.

Mr Casey believes the investment on the greenfield site the Kinsale Road makes sense, with access points and transport links to the whole city.

“There was very little opportunity to find a site like it. Little Island was suggested but was never an option for us. I could see what was possible here: it’s only a mile away from our previous headquarters at Sitecast Industrial Estate in Pouladuff Road. We knew money had to be spent on the ground but we were quite prepared to do that.

“I think history will prove it was the right move.” 

Terry Mealy of EPH marketing says that for a company like EPH, with large amounts of stock moving, the increased warehouse space will quickly show its worth. “With everything that has happened in recent years, from the canal closing to Brexit and stuff, having this extra space once the product is developed, tested, and built, means we can stock it, keeping the logistics flowing over.

“For instance, when the canal closed, the cost of one component that was 50c went to $27 overnight. So instead of trying to fill the small warehouse, empty it, fill it, having this extra space will seam that over. You can wait out some of the time for items like like RF antennas and microchips.” 

EPH founder Casey has never been afraid to take big decisions – it has been key to the success of the company, which is made huge inroads in the UK in recent years. He started the business in 1997, taking over as the sole agent for the Sauter brand in Ireland, and in 2008, the company created its own EPH residential heating controls range.

"I was 23 when I started EPH. I had worked for a company in Macroom called Energy and Environment, it was part of Rockwell but that department of the company was closing in 1996. They used a Swiss-based range of heating controls from Sauter. I was used to ordering from guys in Switzerland since I was 21 years old so I suggested I could take over the distribution contract. They laughed down the phone."

Mr Casey was undeterred. His father Frank Casey was the founder of South Coast Sales, a leading importer and distributor in the plumbing sector, and Trevor was determined to make his own mark.

"I went back to Sauter again and again.  In January 1997, myself, my father, and my father's accountant flew to Basle where we got the document to be their official distributor. 

"I took a chance. I remember unloading the first delivery with a wheelbarrow and that was the reality."

Terry Mealy, EPH marketing, and Eileen O'Brien, financial controller in the warehouse at EPH Controls. Picture: Noel Sweeney

The Sauter distribution was the stepping stone for EPH Controls. Success followed. In 2008, a vital development step was taken as the first own brand range of EPH Controls was launched, as EPH became a prominent player in the Irish market. The company made its first move in the UK in 2012. Development of the UK business was crucial. Early market infiltration was weak. These days the company has a dedicated UK  specification manager to deal with builders and consultants.

"I think in our early years in the UK were were trying to push an Irish solution down an Englishman's throat!" quips Mr Casey. "We nearly pulled out of the UK, but we realised we need a different solution for the UK market, that ignited the road to where we are." 

A dedicated UK-focused switch range was released for the UK, and it has paid dividends. “We've been established in Ireland for a long time so we were kind of the market leaders here, we've already kind of covered a lot of bases,” said EPH financial controller Eileen O’Brien. “The UK is just so vast and huge that we probably still a relatively small fish still over there. But it's turning over a lot for us.”

The EPS app is also a huge success. The Ember app is free and available as an add-on for smart heating controls. "People have changed a bit in terms of wanting control of everything with their phone. We have our new Ember system, which is an app that you can control all the timeclocks or the thermostats in your house from your phone. I think we probably were a little slow coming to the market but we got to see the pitfalls that other people have had, so ours is very well recognised as being a good product. People do love the fact there's no subscription with the app. There's not too many things it's just where it is actually free."

Stability in the app is another attraction, says Mr Mealy.  "There are a lot of heating apps out there that are full of bells and whistles, but don't have stability. Our server hasn't crashed since 2019, whereas everything from banking to Twitter to Amazon has gone down in that time. So we're very proud of that. And we've done that by keeping it simple."

In-house research and design is now a key part of EPS. Switches are, in some ways, simple – they go on, they go off. But the technology is continually improving and developing. Artificial intelligence is starting to make its presence felt but EPH are keen to ensure their humancentric approach continues. 

Future expansion

Around 58% of EPH’s business now comes from UK. EPH will continue to expand its reach, with plans to look at other foreign markets “in the near future”, says Mr Casey.

“The obvious two markets are New Zealand and Australia. They effectively work on the same systems as the UK, so we can sell there. We are fortunate that companies like Firebird Boilers in Ballyvourney are already selling into these markets. They have shown that you can do it in the southern hemisphere.” 

The company will be launching new products in August as they look to increase their user base further. And in straitened times, amid surging energy prices, EPH continues to thrive.

And amid rising global temperatures, cooling systems could be another avenue of future growth. “At the end of the day, they are switches - you can turn something on and off. So why not the other way?” said Ms O’Brien. “We'll see, but that'll be another bit down the line, once we've got it settled into the new offices here."

Mr Casey is proud of the company’s progress made in the past three decades. Earlier this month, the company was shortlisted in the EY entrepreneur of the year established company category. “At EPH, we have always put ourselves under the radar but we are extremely proud of where the business has come from and we are ambitious enough about where we want to get next.”