Business

CDE Global reveal plans for new Co Antrim manufacturing base

Global Point Business Park, located near Glengormley, is owned by Invest NI.
Global Point Business Park, located near Glengormley, is owned by Invest NI.

COOKSTOWN-based screening group CDE Global has launched plans to develop a new manufacturing facility in Co Antrim.

The machinery manufacturing group has lodged a proposal of application notice (PAN) with Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council to build the new factory at Invest NI’s Global Point Business Park.

The PAN process, which involves community consultation, is typically required for before submitting a major planning application.

The notice states that CDE intend building a new manufacturing/assembly building on the site, alongside a storage warehouse, office building, with car parking, landscaping and associated works.

The Newtownabbey site is located just three miles from CDE’s current Monkstown base, which it bought from Caterpillar in 2018.

It’s unclear if CDE’s plans involve replacing the Monkstown operation, but the screening group currently maintains two separate sites close to each other in Cookstown.

CDE have also established bases in Australia, Brazil and Texas.

It’s the latest major development announced for Global Point Business Park.

The site identified for CDE Global's new manufacturing facility at Global Point Business Park.
The site identified for CDE Global's new manufacturing facility at Global Point Business Park.

Drinks can manufacturer Ardagh Metal Packaging (AMP) secured planning approval in August 2022 for its new £150 million factory at the Invest NI site, while Sensata Technologies is also investing £16.5m to build a new office facility.

Meanwhile, Queen’s University is currently leading the £98m Advanced Manufacturing and Innovation Centre (AMIC) project, set to be built at Global Point as part of the Belfast Region City Deal.

The state-of-the-art facility is expected to be operational by 2025.

Artists' impression of the £150 million Ardagh Metal Packaging factory, set to be built at Global Point Business Park.
Artists' impression of the £150 million Ardagh Metal Packaging factory, set to be built at Global Point Business Park.

Founded in 1992 and controlled by Tony Convery and his wife Rosemary, CDE Global has designed, manufactured and commissioned more wet processing plants than any other company in the world, and has delivered more than 1,000 projects.

The latest accounts for the group show the company on a significant growth trajectory in 2021. Revenues jumped by 110 per cent to £98.6m for the year ending December 31 2021, with the group recording a profit before tax of £6.8m.

The Cookstown-based manufacturer had 452 staff on its books at the end of 2021.