Manufacturing Firm to Create 80 New Jobs

A manufacturing firm in Northern Ireland has announced it is to create 80 new jobs.

The new posts at the Hutchinson Group are part of a £4.1 million investment and will be based at its sites in Kilrea and Antrim.

The plans, which are supported by Invest Northern Ireland, include recruiting additional skilled staff and acquiring new technology to allow Hutchinson to target new high value business in the automotive, aerospace and materials handling sectors.

Announcing the new jobs, Enterprise Minister Jonathan Bell said: "Hutchinson is an ambitious and long established family business which has experienced steady growth in recent years. This latest investment in leading edge technology will significantly enhance the firm's engineering capabilities and enable it to secure new business in its target markets.

"The engineering sector accounts for a large proportion of manufactured exports from Northern Ireland. Hutchinson's investment sends a clear signal to the advanced engineering sector across Great Britain and internationally that Northern Ireland has the skills and expertise to be a market leader.

"The 80 new jobs, to be recruited over the next three years, will generate £1.85million annually in additional salaries and create valuable manufacturing employment opportunities in the Causeway Coast and Glens and surrounding council areas.

"Invest Northern Ireland has worked closely with Hutchinson over many years and its support is ensuring that the business has the necessary management team, structure, systems and skills in place to achieve its growth potential."

(CD/LM)