SETANTA Construction, which designs and manufactures timber frame homes, is creating 12 jobs at its Magherafelt workshop after securing £1 million of new contracts in Britain and France.
It comes as the firm has developed a new large construction components design, which enables it to construct the components at its factory and then deliver and instal them on site.
Invest NI has offered Setanta £138,000 of support towards R&D and creating the jobs in managerial and technical roles.
Company director Mark Gribbin said: “Following great success in the local market in recent years, we knew we could go even further and grow our business in GB and Europe.
“We identified a niche in the construction market and through Invest NI’s R&D support, we have developed this new design which enables us to move on and off site quickly, which can aid in the construction of a building very quickly.”
Dr Vicky Kell, Invest NI’s director of innovation, research & development said: “Setanta is already well established in the Northern Ireland market and recognised that, in order to increase export sales, it needed to develop new solutions by investing in R&D.
“Our support has assisted it to develop a unique new off-site solution, a dormer window system. The dormer windows are fully manufactured and assembled in its workshop, transported fully built to site, and bolted into the main structure of a building.
“This has reduced the company’s time spent on site from weeks to hours, reducing cost and has significantly increased Setanta’s productivity.
“Investing in R&D to develop such an innovative product has provided a unique competitive advantage for Setanta and has enabled the company to win significant contracts, most recently with Claridges Hotel in London and in France with Chateau la Coste.”
