Please tell us a bit about yourself!

I’m Adrian Murtagh and I work as the Sales & Business Development Manager with Dortek. I have been working with Dortek for the past 8 years and I am based out of the Irish office, covering business development across Ireland and Europe.

What first inspired you into the engineering and architectural industry?

I studied Construction Management and Civil Engineering in college, so I have always had an interest in the construction sector. After spending a number of years in renewable energy, I moved to Singapore with Enterprise Ireland.  My role with Enterprise Ireland was to assist Irish companies export abroad so this is how I got to know Dortek and Mike Glanville.

What made you want to work for Dortek?

My first sit down meeting with Mike and Alan was a bit surprising to say the least. What was supposed to be a meet up in Starbucks to discuss how Enterprise Ireland and I could assist further across the region, turned into an interview. But it was only after a while into the conversation did this become apparent to me! Thankfully I must have made a good impression and started with them a short time later.

Dortek offered an excellent opportunity to work within construction internationally and travel across Asia Pacific as there was a great variety of multinational companies and sectors we supplied to. This included working with the likes of Abbvie & GSK in Singapore, Fonterra in Indonesia, Nestle in Philippines, Ikea in Thailand and on many large hospitals across Singapore and Hong Kong. After 3 and a half years living in Singapore, I got the opportunity to move to Auckland with Dortek to cover New Zealand and Australia. It was a challenge as many of the clients were unfamiliar with GRP doors but it was one I enjoyed. It meant working closely with our local partners as well as introducing Dortek and our ranges of door systems to architects & engineers across both countries.

How important was your Irish Network when working abroad?

Being Irish abroad, and having a big interest in GAA, I found that being part of that Irish community helped me settle into new surroundings and meet good friends. I found this true with both Singapore and Auckland. From a work perspective, the GAA & Irish communities internationally are a great assistance as people are very well connected and more then happy to offer introductions wherever they can.

How has COVID affected your role within Dortek?

After 6 years living abroad I was lucky enough to move back to Ireland with Dortek. Since being back in Ireland, it has been challenging covering the European market due to the covid travel restrictions. I would have been used to meeting clients and architects in person on a regular basis. However, working from home during covid has had some advantages. As we had a baby during the lockdown period, it meant I got to spend more time at home and help out especially in the early days. But, getting away for a night or two so I could get a full night sleep would have been very welcome!

What do you like about working with Dortek?

When starting work with Dortek, it would have been hard to envisage the route I would have taken, but I have always found a great variation in the types of projects that I deal with in Dortek. For example, it could be ensuring our doors can meet fire compliance in both local and international standards as well as ensuring meeting the cleanroom standards for Covid vaccines projects, or working with architects to develop solutions for retrofit projects within ICU or Operating theatres on hospital projects. It is interesting to see projects from early design stages where we would have input in the door design details, all the way to completion. It is especially satisfying when we get to see them first-hand in critical areas of the building’s functionality.