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Ray O鈥橰ourke, chairman of construction firm Laing O鈥橰ourke, has received an honorary knighthood in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the UK鈥檚 construction industry.

As presenter of the award, business secretary Vince Cable praised O鈥橰ourke for having 鈥渁 focus on the customer and a quality driven agenda鈥� and commended O鈥橰ourke as being 鈥渨idely respected across the construction industry鈥�. 

Cable said that O鈥橰ourke鈥檚 use of lean construction methods and offsite manufacturing is particularly effective at eliminating waste and maximising efficiency. Cable went on, 鈥渃oupled with his commitment to training people, this has helped Laing O鈥橰ourke鈥� serve as an exemplar for the rest of the industry鈥�.

O鈥橰ourke鈥檚 contribution to the construction industry has spanned more than 40 years, in which he turned the concrete contractor he founded, R O鈥橰ourke & Sons, into a multi-million pound main contractor, completing an audacious buy-out of John Laing鈥檚 construction arm in 2001.

Whilst O鈥橰ourke is chairman of the UK鈥檚 largest privately owned construction firm, he is an Irish citizen and as such is not entitled to being awarded for his services by the Queen.