The Keystone Group in Cookstown, one of the UK and Ireland’s leading manufacturers of construction products, has officially opened its new expanded headquarters building at Ballyreagh industrial estate after a multi-million pound investment.
It coincides with an event marking the company’s 35th anniversary, which saw it bring together 400 leading figures from the UK and Irish construction sector to a gala dinner in Titanic Belfast hosted by RTE broadcaster Patrick Kielty.
Keystone has evolved from a solo steel lintel manufacturing operation started by former building control officer Sean Coyle in 1989, into a leading and innovative manufacturer of construction products.
Its new headquarters has been designed with staff wellbeing as a key focus, offering purpose-built space designed to encourage greater collaboration and innovation.
Sean Coyle said: “Thirty-five years on from its beginning, the Keystone Group now operates from 27 locations across the UK, Ireland, Poland, and the Netherlands.
“We have chosen to make this investment in our Cookstown headquarters as a signal of our continuing commitment to the people of Mid-Ulster and to ensuring economic growth and prosperity for the region and Northern Ireland as a whole.
“From 1989 to today, our focus has always been on providing customers with innovative products to meet their needs, along with unrivalled customer service, and we will continue to emphasise those aspects of our business in the decades ahead. We may be a bigger company now, but we are still a family business and we’d like to keep it like that.”
Keystone Group (www.keystonegroup.co.uk) also showcased its newest acquisition, Showersave Ltd, as part of the official opening.
Part of its continued drive to deliver innovation and sustainability in the construction and manufacturing sectors, the innovative waste water heat recovery system was recently awarded best services product at The Housebuilder Products Awards.
Owen Coyle, divisional chief executive at the group, said: “To date we have over 110 patents across the Keystone Group, and our commitment to innovation means we will continue to deliver the products our customers need before they know they need them.
“Whether it’s thatched roofs in the Netherlands, homes in Tyrone, or the skylines of New York, we’re confident our products will continue to be used to enhance the performance and aesthetics of buildings around the world across the next four decades and beyond.”
Sean Og Coyle, chief commercial officer for Keystone Group, added: “Our journey to becoming an international company with 2,000 staff, and over 1,500,000 sq ft of manufacturing and warehouse space, is down to the hard work and dedication of our team as well as the support of our partners and customers.
“As we officially open our new headquarters, we remain committed to investing in the future workforce through our Keyskills initiative which enables our further education colleges to offer apprenticeships, traineeships, and welding programmes, and to support our staff so they continue to enjoy their work at Keystone and are equipped to reach their full potential.”
