100 NEW JOBS FOR WEST BELFAST

First Minister Peter Robinson and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness are pictured with Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster and Delta Print & Packaging Chairman and joint Managing Director, Terry Cross. Delta Print & Packaging is investing £40 million in its west Belfast plant,  Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

First Minister Peter Robinson and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness are pictured with Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster and Delta Print & Packaging Chairman and joint Managing Director, Terry Cross. Delta Print & Packaging is investing £40 million in its west Belfast plant,
Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

FIRST Minister Peter Robinson and the deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness have announced Delta Print & Packaging Ltd is investing over £40million to expand its operation and create 100 new manufacturing jobs in west Belfast.

Based at Kennedy Way, Delta designs and manufactures printed carton packaging primarily for the retail food, consumer electronics, household goods, dairy, pharmaceutical and food service sectors. Delta has already increased staff from 169 to 200 recently in preparation for the investment. Staff levels will then rise to 269.

The First Minister Peter Robinson said: “Today’s £40million investment by Delta Print & Packaging creating 100 new jobs is good news for the local economy and reinforces the company’s 30 year commitment to invest and re-invest in Belfast.

“Delta has developed strong, long-term relationships with a number of blue-chip companies and its consistent high volume production has enabled the company to substantially increase its turnover across Europe and the US.

“Delta’s decision to expand marks the next stage of its development and will allow it to further increase export sales and continue to service its key clients.

“Investment such as this helps Northern Ireland to meet the challenges we have set within our Economic Strategy – to improve Northern Ireland’s economic competitiveness through export-led growth and to increase employment opportunities and prosperity for all.”

The deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said: “I welcome this £40million investment by Delta Print & Packaging creating 100 jobs.

“This is a significant boost for our local manufacturing sector and for west Belfast. Delta Print & Packaging generate annual wages and salaries of £8million a year to the local economy and this announcement is good news for existing and potential employees and other local businesses.

“Delta is a fantastic example of a local company using the skills and work ethic of local people to compete globally. With overseas production operations through joint ventures in India and China Delta could have relocated its entire operation overseas. The decision to invest in the plant and the people at Kennedy Way maintains its long term commitment to west Belfast.”

As well as creating new jobs, the investment will see the company extend its factory and install state-of-the-art machinery and bespoke technology to enable it to increase capacity and efficiency.

Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister Arlene Foster said: “Delta Print and Packaging is a progressive company that has worked closely with clients to create innovative packaging solutions that meet their specific needs. It has used Invest NI assistance to support ambitious growth plans and today’s investment includes a highly important training element.

“Delta has also indicated that it plans to commit to a number of research and development projects in the coming years to create new products that will meet changing customer demands. Investing in its Kennedy Way plant will enable the company to enhance its competitive position and take advantage of growth opportunities outside Northern Ireland.”

Delta customers include McDonald’s, KFC, Greiner Packaging and Nokia, and some 95 per cent of its sales are outside Northern Ireland notably to France, Benelux, Germany and Scandinavia.

Terry Cross, Delta’s Chairman and joint Managing Director, said: “We are making this major investment in response to opportunities to grow sales across a number of existing customer accounts, in particular with McDonald’s, as well as acquiring new accounts.

“Invest NI’s support has been vital in enabling us to invest in custom-built, high-technology plant and machinery, extend the factory at Kennedy Way and recruit and train 100 new staff including European Sales and Marketing Personnel, which will give us the infrastructure to take the company to the next level.”

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