Boost as Moy Park create 628 new jobs

Enterprise Trade and Investment Minister Arlene Foster is pictured with Janet McCollum, chief executive of Moy Park, and Lord Morrow after announcing a £170m expansion by the company that will provide 628 new jobs across three sites, including Craigavon. INPT28-007

The new jobs, 100 of which are already in place, are being created over a four-year period. The other sites are Dungannon and Ballymena.

They will include roles in management, supervisory, processing and financial shared services.

The Craigavon factory will also be the site for an Innovation Centre, which will drive new product development and provide financial services, and will attract 70 high value posts.

The investment, which will include extra processing lines, was announced on Monday by Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister Arlene Foster.

She said, “This investment... is a huge boost of confidence in Northern Ireland as a European food production and manufacturing centre of excellence by a world leading company.

“The expansion will further enhance Moy Park’s contribution to the local economy by enabling the business to achieve a substantial growth in sales, mostly to customers outside N Ireland, by 2018.”

Invest Northern Ireland is providing £9.5 million towards the expansion.

Janet McCollum, Moy Park chief executive, said, “Moy Park started as a small farming company in 1943 and has grown into a top UK business with a £1.5billion turnover. We continue to have big ambitions and this investment will allow us to further grow our operations and create new jobs in Northern Ireland.”

The announcement has been welcomed by Jo-Anne Dobson, who said it showed a “high level of confidence in the future of the local agri-food industry”.