David Brennan: ‘We grew from €0 to €60 million per annum in nine years’

David Brennan is the founder and chief executive of Eastgate Engineering, an award-winning company operating across Ireland and Britain.

Founded in 2007, Eastgate Engineering is a specialist electrical and instrumentation engineering business with a presence in industrial hubs including Teesside, Warrington, Port of Nigg and Port of Waterford.

It employs nearly 500 people and delivers complex projects across a range of sectors including offshore wind, power and renewables, oil, gas and chemicals, mining, data centres, industrial and manufacturing, nuclear, and defence.

What is your greatest business achievement to date?

Growing Eastgate from a start-up into a €60 million business, with no third-party investment or debt, employing nearly 500 people and working on some of Europe’s most high-profile projects is something I’m very proud of. Being trusted to deliver on projects like Dogger Bank and other major infrastructure developments reflects how far we’ve come.

What moment/deal would you cite as the “game changer” or turning point for the company?

Winning the Woodsmith Mine Project, the world’s largest polyhalite mine, marked the beginning of a turning point for us. However, securing Dogger Bank Offshore Wind Farm two years later was the pivotal moment for Eastgate. That contract award brought international attention to the business and attracted visitors from across the globe to our project.

We grew from €0 to €60 million per annum in nine years.

What were the best and the worst pieces of advice you received when starting out?

I didn’t really seek much advice when starting out to be honest. I had the pleasure of working with many amazing people throughout my career, so I listened and learned from a wide range of experiences as I progressed, developing my own capability to start up when I did. We stayed focused on what we know, did it well, and continue to do so today.

To what extent does your business trade internationally and what are your future plans/ambitions?

We work across Ireland and the UK, with a strong footprint in major UK energy and critical infrastructure projects. Looking ahead, we aim to deepen our presence in those markets, play a bigger role in Ireland’s offshore wind sector and expand into Europe as we pursue further large-scale opportunities.

We are projecting a turnover of €120 million by 2029 and we won’t be stopping there. We can see Eastgate growing to beyond €500 million-plus within the next eight to 10 years.

Describe your growth funding path.

We’ve bootstrapped and grown organically from day one. By deliberately reinvesting 100 per cent of our profits back into the company, we’ve maintained steady growth and 100 per cent control over our direction – free from external debt or investor pressure.

What are you doing to disrupt, innovate and improve the products or services you offer?

We are one of the few companies in Ireland and the UK, if not Europe, delivering our services on a “fixed price” basis across highly complex projects in sectors such as offshore wind, power and renewables, oil, gas and chemicals, mining, industrial and manufacturing, nuclear, and defence. We have developed a strong project-management capability, with a clear emphasis on safety, efficiency and quality.

Our competition tends to be risk-averse, whereas we have developed effective methods for solving critical, time-sensitive challenges on complex projects. We are constantly looking for ways to improve efficiency, enhance safety and strengthen delivery.

What makes your company a good place to work?

We’ve built a strong team culture where people support each other and take pride in the work. There’s a big focus on developing our people, from apprenticeships through to leadership roles. We take wellbeing seriously and try to create an environment where people feel valued and supported.

We believe every successful business has a duty to give back to the community and, at Eastgate, our charity and community work is definitely something we take a lot of pride in.

I run the Vicky Phelan Campaign & Portrait Tour as well as Vicky’s Legacy, a cervical cancer awareness platform dedicated to continuing the work of the great, late Vicky Phelan.