Dubai orders for Lisburn company

Lisburn-based Boomer Industries has secured over £100,000 in new business from customers in Dubai over the past week.

The company, which supplies extruded plastic components to construction and other industries, announced the orders during a trade mission to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

Boomer has seen its business in the region grow from around £60,000 to almost £1 million since 2002 when it took part in its first Invest Northern Ireland trade mission to the Gulf States.

The company is currently part of the Invest NI group on the Enterprise Ireland trade mission to Saudi Arabia and the UAE, a mission being led by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, which ends this weekend. Boomer will then be part of the Northern Ireland group travelling to Qatar for business meetings until January 23.

John Irwin, Sales Director of Boomer Industries, announcing the contracts with new clients in Dubai, said: “Our products are being used to help build and supply temporary pre-fabricated accommodation to house the many thousands of workers needed for Dubai to maintain the current construction boom, including those working on projects like the incredible Palm Islands.

“We’ve seen our business grow dramatically because we are able to supply contractors’ with consistently high quality products that offer value for money and are delivered on time.

Mr Irwin continued: “Our decision to focus resources on the Gulf region as one of our key growth markets is proving to be invaluable. I am confident that we will see even further and substantial growth in the year ahead. We appreciate greatly the advice and assistance provided by Invest NI about this market. We’ve also found trade missions to be an ideal way to develop market knowledge and win business.”

Welcoming Boomer’s latest success, Tracy Meharg, Invest NI’s Managing Director of Innovation and Capability Development, who is accompanying the trade participants, said: “This is another important success story for a trade mission participant in the Middle East, a market now worth more than £250 million annually to Northern Ireland.

“During this mission, participating companies have racked up an impressive amount of new business and have demonstrated the professionalism and determination that, I am confident, will result in further and very substantial contracts. They’ve all been excited by the huge business opportunities developing in the Gulf region for companies keen to do business and able to offer competitive products and services that are required here.”

Boomer Industries was established in 1970 and since then has grown to become one of the leading companies in the specialist plastics extrusion industry, with customers throughout Europe, the Middle East and North America. The company employs 60 people in Lisburn.

(EF/SP)