Omagh hardware supply firm bought over

THE long-established hardware and builders supply firm of P McDermott and Sons in Omagh has been bought over by a Co Antrim-based company. Final details of the deal were confirmed at the end of last week, marking the end of an era for the firm which also operates from a unit on the Gortrush Industrial Estate.

It will now come under the umbrella of the builders’ suppliers, MacBlair, who are based in Antrim and have 16 other branches across the North. They are also part of the Grafton Group PLC which has its headquarters in Ireland and operates throughout Europe.

The 32 strong full-time workforce and ten part-time employees in the McDermott premises on Sedan Avenue are understood to be secure, while the Dromore branch of the firm, which is owned by the McCaffrey brothers, Paul, Declan and Mark, is unaffected by the buy-over.

Speaking to the UH, Mark McCaffrey, managing director of P McDermott in Omagh until last Friday morning, thanked the past and present staff for their hard-work and loyalty to the firm over more than three decades.

“P McDermott and Sons in Omagh was under the directorship of myself and my wife Monica until we signed off on this deal on Thursday night,” he said.

“The farm supplies company in Dromore will be retained by the family members and myself and my brothers, Paul and Declan. I will be retiring from the Omagh business at the end of this year.

“P McDermott and Sons in Omagh is a great business which has been brought to the stage it’s at today by the hard work of great employees. That has been one of the key strengths which has been recognised by the MacBlair group in this purchase.

“Many have been employees for over 20 years and longer. The staff, suppliers and customers are people who I will miss.”