Here it has become a byword for the collapse of an economy but Michael Clune’s expansive construction empire in the United States is a solid example of how one builds a sustainable success story.
Fiscal responsibility, accelerating brand awareness and building relationships are key phrases in his armoury: knowing how to grow without overreaching appears to be his winning approach.
Clune established Clune Construction in Chicago in 1997 and, within 16 years, has managed a more than five-fold increase in turnover and a quadrupling of staff.
With an initial base in Chicago and Los Angeles, the Dubliner’s company – which specialises in interior fittings – now has offices in New York and Washington, with others soon to follow.
For a man who left school at the age of 14, his is truly a story befitting the American Dream.
“We never set out to be the biggest at anything. We wanted to be profitable but the highlight is, today, when we have reached the point where we can service a client in any state in the US. I can say we are one of the very few construction companies in America which can do that.”
Clune fits a certain mould of the self-made millionaire. He speaks modestly; he rises early and he works hard.
He only recently abandoned a preference for responding to emails by going back to basics and reaching out to clients himself.
“Call me ‘old school’ but I want to get back into and practice what I do best . . . talking in person,” arrives his automated email response, anticipating a delay in writing back.
The now 63-year-old father-of-six arrived in Chicago in 1978 and quickly got a job as an assistant project manager for a large construction outfit building high rises.
After five years he became president of its commercial and interior construction division before leaving to take up a job at Jones Lang LaSalle.
In the end, as they say, he liked the work so much he bought the company – well at least a small division of it and quickly rebranded it with the family name. The stage was set.
“I felt that we could do better as an independent. I bought it in June of 1997 and renamed it Clune Construction,” he recalls.
“At the time we bought it, annual turnover was $80 million and we had two offices, in Chicago and Los Angeles, and 45 people.
“This year we will do $450 million turnover; we have 200 people in four major offices in Chicago, LA, New York and Washington and [are] about to open in San Francisco and Miami.
“We have been profitable every year, even through the recession.”
Watching from a distance, Clune believes that, as crazy as things became, there is a future for the construction sector in Ireland.
“When you reach bottom there is really only one place that the industry can go. It will recover,” he says.
“In my opinion there will be opportunities but you have to think in terms of 10 years not 10 months.”
Clune’s brother John (53) runs the east coast division from New York and, together, the men put a strong emphasis on employing Irish people – they have seven Irish-born senior officers – and are determined eventually to give something back.
“The Irish work ethic is second to none,” says Michael.
“We have a strong desire to create jobs in Ireland. We are going to wait and see a little bit more light in the tunnel but if I had a bucket list, that is really high on the list.”
In more recent times, the visible success of Clune Construction can be seen on the clothing of golfer Padraig Harrington, literally – the company became a sponsor earlier this year. "I said we would give it a crack, see how it went for three months and I can't describe [the value of] it," he says.
“It really helped us accelerate our branding and it exceeded my wildest expectations in terms of brand recognition.”
