WIS Engineers Additional Jobs In Mallusk

There's good news on job creation this week with a Co Antrim company revealing that it has invested £3.3 million to develop new products and increase its focus on export markets.

Williams Industrial Services (WIS), which is Northern Ireland's largest provider of process control and environmental engineering solutions, hosted a visit yesterday by the NI Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster, (pictured).

She said that, with support from Invest Northern Ireland, the company aims to develop new products and services and increase its turnover to £30million over the next two years - and to promote 24 new high quality jobs - as it further develops its research and development capability and increases its sales in markets outside Northern Ireland.

Announcing the investment, Arlene Foster said: "WIS has grown remarkably over the past 25 years and such companies are the backbone of the Northern Ireland economy.

"This investment, supported by Invest NI, is a strong indication of the commitment of this indigenous company to further expand by diversifying into higher value-added products and services, and capitalising on lucrative export opportunities.

"The increased focus on competing internationally can help WIS become more profitable and reach its full commercial potential," she said.

Robert Adamson, Joint-Managing Director of WIS, said: "Our growth strategy over the next two years includes a variety of promotional activities such as exhibitions in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland.

"We will also be publicising our work extensively in trade media, developing a new range of advertising literature and welcoming potential new clients to Northern Ireland to witness the high quality of projects and systems already delivered by us.

"This aggressive marketing campaign will be essential in order to further establish our presence in developing markets," continued Mr Adamson.

The project is the culmination of several months of collaboration between Invest NI and WIS. Invest NI has previously helped Williams with company development initiatives including staff training and strategic planning.

(BMcC)