New multi-million pound contract for Carrickfergus firm

A Carrickfergus-based firm specialising in aluminium castings has secured a new multi-million pound contract.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Ryobi Aluminium Casting (UK) Ltd won the significant contract with an emerging transmission supplier specialising in electrified drivetrains for the automotive market.

Worth almost £15m annually, the deal will see the Carrickfergus manufacturer produce 150,000 clutch and transmission cases per year for new hybrid vehicles commencing 2023.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Commenting on the news, Managing Director, David Watson said: “This is an exciting project which was. Ryobi’s growing reputation in the development of new technically challenging products is what sealed this deal after a lengthy bidding process. This is testament to the knowledge, creativity and skill of our engineers and the confidence our customers have in us to deliver good quality products on time.”

Pictured L-R Marco Emig (Deputy Managing Director, Ryobi Aluminium Casting (UK)), Kaz Yokosawa (Plant Manager, Ryobi Aluminium Casting (UK)), Mayor Councillor Peter Johnston (Mid and East Antrim Borough Council), David Watson (Managing Director, Ryobi Aluminium Casting (UK), Gwyneth Evans (HR Manager, Ryobi Aluminium Casting (UK)) and Sammy Wilson MP.Pictured L-R Marco Emig (Deputy Managing Director, Ryobi Aluminium Casting (UK)), Kaz Yokosawa (Plant Manager, Ryobi Aluminium Casting (UK)), Mayor Councillor Peter Johnston (Mid and East Antrim Borough Council), David Watson (Managing Director, Ryobi Aluminium Casting (UK), Gwyneth Evans (HR Manager, Ryobi Aluminium Casting (UK)) and Sammy Wilson MP.
Pictured L-R Marco Emig (Deputy Managing Director, Ryobi Aluminium Casting (UK)), Kaz Yokosawa (Plant Manager, Ryobi Aluminium Casting (UK)), Mayor Councillor Peter Johnston (Mid and East Antrim Borough Council), David Watson (Managing Director, Ryobi Aluminium Casting (UK), Gwyneth Evans (HR Manager, Ryobi Aluminium Casting (UK)) and Sammy Wilson MP.

The announcement was made during a visit to the factory by East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson and Mayor of Mid and East Antrim, Councillor Peter Johnston.

Mr Wilson said: “I am delighted with this significant investment in Ryobi, which is rightly regarded as one of Northern Ireland’s top manufacturing firms. I commend all of those at Ryobi for securing this much-sought-after contract which provides a very timely boost for our world-class manufacturing sector in Northern Ireland. This is a great news story for Ryobi, Carrickfergus, Mid and East Antrim, and our country as a whole.”

The Mayor added: “This announcement is a ringing endorsement in Ryobi and Mid and East Antrim. Ryobi is a key member of our Manufacturing Taskforce, and its members continue to work very closely to identify and maximise all opportunities to grow the sector locally. The company is a major employer in our borough and this move will secure approximately 70 highly skilled jobs, moving forward.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“The past year has seen our manufacturers operating in a hugely challenging financial environment. This investment provides hope for our economic recovery in Mid and East Antrim, and I congratulate Ryobi, which continues to demonstrate remarkable innovation, resilience and commitment.”

David Watson, Ryobi.David Watson, Ryobi.
David Watson, Ryobi.

David Watson also expressed gratitude on behalf of all the local directors and employees to Ryobi’s parent company in Japan, who financially supported the £12m capital investment required to install state of the art manufacturing processes to produce these new products.

This new business will secure the jobs of around 70 highly skilled people and will run for at least the next seven years. Ryobi currently employs almost 600 staff, making it one of the largest contributors to the economy in East Antrim.

Ryobi was established in Carrickfergus in 1990 to manufacture aluminium castings for the European automotive industry.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Starting from humble beginnings supplying Ford Motor Company, it has grown substantially and now includes VW, Skoda, Peugeot Citroen, Jaguar Landrover, Magna and Ford within its expanding portfolio.

--

Message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this article. We’re more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

Please consider purchasing a copy of the paper. You can also support trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription of the News Letter.