Scottish Success For Co Antrim Firm

A Co Antrim engineering firm is in focus this week with news that Ballymena-based Crawford Contracts Group has secured over £800,000 worth of new business in Scotland with support from Invest Northern Ireland.

Crawford Contracts Group is a civil engineering company, which specialises in the design, construction and installation of synthetic sports surfaces and children's play areas.

This contract will see the firm build a new athletics track and grass sports pitch at an Edinburgh leisure centre.

The company's success follows an £87,000 investment to boost sales in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland after Invest NI offered Crawford Contracts £35,000 towards the project.

As part of its overall investment, the business is implementing an extensive marketing campaign to attract new customers and is planning to employ a new Republic of Ireland-based contracts manager to capitalise on emerging opportunities.

Gren Armstrong, Manager of Invest NI's North Eastern Regional Office, said: "Crawford Contracts Group is an established family business with a strong growth ambition. Securing this valuable contract in Scotland as a result of its investment is positive news for the company.

"Appointing a dedicated sales resource in the Republic of Ireland and undertaking market development activities will help to boost Crawford's competitiveness and enhance its ability to win future contracts outside Northern Ireland."

Commenting, Ed Crawford of Crawford Contracts Group said: "Invest NI's support has been essential in helping us to formulate our growth strategy and to identify new market opportunities.

"We are delighted with our recent success and hope it will help us to secure further business.

"We remain focused on achieving our growth objectives and will continue to implement our export development plan over the coming months," he concluded.

(BMcC/GK)