Foster 'Goes On The Bottle' In Co Antrim

Ballymena is in line for new jobs this week with the NI Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster officially opening a £3.2m bottling plant in Ballymena.

The development, which has created 20 jobs, is located at the Dale Farm liquid milk factory in Pennybridge Industrial Estate, with Invest NI offering £254,000 with part funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Nampak Plastics Europe's facility is an in-plant facility that has the capacity to make more than 100million bottles a year.

As well as servicing the dairy firm Dale Farm's current production requirements, Nampak will be targeting new customers in the Republic of Ireland.

Officially opening the plant, the Minister said: "This new facility sees a multinational company establish a base in Northern Ireland, bringing with it a successful and sustainable business model.

"The company was the first in its field to set itself a target of including 10% recycled plastic in every milk bottle it produces. Nampak’s approach of setting up in-plant bottling facilities also minimises its carbon footprint by reducing the need for transporting bottles."

Nampak is a leader in the manufacture of high-density polyethlylene bottles for the food and drink industry. It has eight plants in England and Scotland which together produce more than two billion bottles a year.

Jamie Tinsley, Sales Director, Nampak Plastics, said: "This investment is in line with our strategy of securing long-term contracts for large volumes of bottles.

"We are seeking to broaden our geographical base and recognise that Northern Ireland offers an excellent platform from which to target the Republic of Ireland market as well as servicing the local market.

"We are confident that this investment will yield a profitable return and will be looking for opportunities to grow our customer base across the island of Ireland."

(BMcC/GK)