New jobs all wrapped up at Huhtamaki

Huhtamaki Lurgan, which employs over 200 people, is expanding its plant capacity to meet the rapid growth of the egg market in the UK and Ireland.

Installation of the new machinery will begin this month with completion expected in early 2016, with recruitment already underway for the 12 new positions.

The new equipment will enable Huhtamaki to expand upon its existing range of products within the molded fiber sector.

Announcing the investment, Philip Woolsey, General Manager of Huhtamaki Lurgan, said: “This investment represents a huge vote of confidence in the strength, quality and dedication of our team at the Lurgan plant in what is our 80th anniversary.

“We have increased our product range, increased efficiency and improved our customer orientation - now we have the confidence to install new state-of-the-art machinery to enable future growth and further improve our performance for our customers.

“The investment provides a major boost for the local economy, increasing business for local suppliers and creating 12 full-time jobs, as well as more than 80 temporary jobs while the machinery is being installed. We have also increased our warehousing capacity, with a new facility completed and operational.”

Welcoming the investment, Stephen Kelly, CEO of Manufacturing NI, said: “Manufacturing in Northern Ireland has plenty of good news stories to tell and this investment and job creation by Huhtamaki is certainly one of them. For a global company to invest on such a large scale shows the total confidence which it has in the skills base at the Lurgan factory – and the local team should be very proud.

“Investment in new machinery, job creation and the development of new products are key elements of driving forward the manufacturing sector in Northern Ireland.”