ARDS is set for a jobs boost after a local factory announced a major investment scheme.
Technical Metals, based in the Kiltonga Industrial Estate, is to create up to 120 jobs across its plants in Newtownards and Portadown as part of a £3.5m investment blitz.
The metal manufacturing and finishing firm has so far spent £500,000 upgrading the Kiltonga factory, including installing a new water borewell.
The investment comes as the firm focuses on the aerospace and space industries, supplying parts for clients such as the European Space Agency.
Indeed, just this year the company delivered what it describes as ‘quality spring solutions’ for a European Space Agency probe launched to explore the moons of Jupiter.
With the 40th anniversary of Technical Metals due next year, senior officials say they’re about to embark on their biggest growth project to date,
Says chairwoman Anne Marie Callaghan: “Post-Covid, we have enjoyed one of the company’s strongest periods of growth with a 23% increase in year-on-year sales.
“We are delighted to have appointed Kieron Kent as the new Group Managing Director who has been responsible for driving the strategic growth of the Technical Metals Group (TMG) and has been pivotal in implementing huge changes to the business that ensures we are well placed for the years ahead.
“It is no secret that females are underrepresented in the manufacturing industry; however, at TMG, I am delighted to say that we have a growing number of women throughout the business and as part of our senior management team helping to lead the company.
“I am very proud of the entire TMG workforce and what they have achieved to date. With our new structure and strategy in place, we are working together with a shared vision as we enter a new phase of global growth, which the board and I are very excited about.
“We currently have highly experienced teams made up of 64 employees working at all levels and a strategic plan to grow that number to 160 over the next three years.”
Managing director Kieron Kent, one of a number of recent high-level boardroom appointments, says he’s determined to ‘deliver a sustainable and profitable growth plan’ as part of the coming investment and new hires.
“The entire team has bought into the changes we are making and are committed to developing the company and the culture we are creating,” he said.
“Two sectors we are focused on are aerospace and space, where we have international clients and a great heritage.
“We are only just getting started and I am looking forward to developing and implementing our plans. I’m confident that this is just the beginning of an exciting phase of growth for Technical Metals Group.”
