Lisburn Firm Boosts Its Performance

Boomer Industries, based at Knockmore Hill Industrial Estate in Lisburn, has seen its sales increase by almost 20% following product development support from Invest Northern Ireland.

The plastics processing company manufactures a pre-hung door system for the modular building industry and used an Invest NI Innovation Voucher to work with University of Ulster experts to upgrade its door frames for use in healthcare and hospital buildings.

Speaking about the impact of the project, Thomas Faughey, Director at Boomer Industries, said: "We identified an opportunity to broaden our customer base within the modular building sector but needed to improve the acoustic performance of our product.

"By using an Invest NI Innovation Voucher we have upgraded the seal on our PVC clad fire-door frames and the new business generated from this product has helped us to sustain a competitive market position during tough economic conditions. Turnover has increased by 17 per cent as a result.

"We have now secured a second innovation voucher to investigate a product which would enable us to target new markets."

Olive Hill, Invest NI's Director of Innovation and Technical Solutions, said: "The outcome of Boomer Industries’ product improvements clearly underlines the link between innovation and increased competitiveness. The company's experiences demonstrate how influential Invest NI's Innovation Vouchers can be in helping businesses realise the value to be gained from investing in new products and processes. I would encourage Northern Ireland's entrepreneurs to consider the potential benefits for their business."

(CD/JP)