THE manufacturer of the world-famous Denman hairbrushes is set for a major expansion worth more than £2 million.
Denroy Group - which this year celebrates 75 years of the iconic Denman brand - is to extend its main factory in Bangor.
Production of the hair-brushes, which are supplied to hairdressers and retailers across the globe, has increased 50 per cent in the past two years.
Meanwhile, the group's plastic mouldings division is experiencing unprecedented growth in the aero-space sector.
The success is driven largely by the increasing cost of production in China, encouraging buyers back to the western world.
It is anticipated the expansion due to take place later this year will create around a dozen jobs adding to the 180-strong staff.
Denman is one of the real success stories of Northern Ireland's manufacturing sector.
When the company was taken over in the 1960s by the late Max Rainey, 90 per cent of business was done within a 50-mile radius.
Now 99 per cent of orders are from outside the north while Denman has cus tomers in almost 60 countries worldwide.
Managing director John Rainey said proposals for the expansion which it is hoped can attract government investment were "substantial".
"On the back of our recent success and looking forward to the next 10 to 20 years, we need to reinvest in machinery and equipment and it is believed that we need to expand our site," he said.
"The main thrust in this is first and foremost towards the aerospace sector and secondly to try to reshore products and components manufactured in the far east."
Denman marketing man ager Jonathan King said many global firms - some of which were previously customers - had developed a "degree of disillusionment by what is happening in China".
"They can't guarantee continuity of supply, they can't guarantee the prices and so a lot of people who primarily went there to make more money out of the products they were selling are having their fingers burnt," he said.
Three million of the iconic brushes - which owe much of their success to an endorsement by stylist Vidal Sassoon - are shipped every year.
Created by John Denman Dean, a native of Cushendall, Co Antrim, believed to be the brush was the first to feature nylon bristles.
At first a cheap alternative to more traditional hairstyling tools, the brush came into its own when it got the backing of Sassoon.
Looking back on the hey days of the 1960s and 1970s, Sassoon commented: "The Denman came with us everywhere. Next to the scissors it was the most deadly weapon in our repertoire and how thankful we were for it".
Initially based in England, Denman was moved entirely to Northern Ireland after the take-over by the Raineys.
The brush continues as one of the most respected names in hairdressing and displays at dozens of hairstyling exhibits each year.
This October, Denman will be the premier sponsor of the Alternative Hair Show at the Royal Albert Hall in London, an event which attracts an international audience of 5,000 hairstylists.
? GROWTH: Denroy, which owns the famous Denman hairbrush brand, has announced a major expansion. The new plans will see up to a dozen jobs created at the firm which is based in Bangor, Co Down
? PLANS: John Rainey, managing director of the Denroy Group