In recent years, Northern Ireland has been fortunate in attracting significant inward investment which has resulted in thousands of new jobs, mainly in the technology and financial sectors.
This has been an undoubted success story for the local economy and reflects well on our education system which has turned out high calibre graduates and school leavers with the skills needed by these multi-national companies.
While rightly trumpeting the influx of overseas investors, we must also fully recognise the home-grown businesses which have tapped into this developing sector and delivered excellent results.
A prime example of a local firm which has grown exponentially over recent years is First Derivatives, founded by Brian Conlon and headquartered in Newry with offices in Belfast, Dublin, London and New York.
This company, a global technology provider, has delivered sustained growth which has averaged 31 per cent annually over the past three years.
It currently employs more than 2,400 staff and this week announced plans to recruit a further 1,000 employees over the next three years.
According to a spokesman, a considerable number will be based in the company's 'epicentre' in Newry which is very much the hub of the firm's operation.
There is no doubt this is exciting news for the city and represents a huge vote of confidence by a vibrant and forward-looking business.
The issue for Newry will be providing the infrastructure necessary to support an influx of workers and their families, including suitable housing.
Given the proximity to the border, it is also likely that some staff will live in towns such as Dundalk and travel to work in Newry.
This again underlines the importance of securing a Brexit deal that ensures all such journeys will be as straightforward as possible, with no controls, checks or delays at the border or anywhere close to it.
This is an key issue which will not just affect firms such as First Derivatives but businesses throughout this island.
Any form of hard border would be disastrous on a number of levels, but in practical terms it would have an impact on huge numbers of people.
New figures released by the Department for the Economy's Analytical Services Division, reveal there are more than 45 million vehicle crossings between Northern Ireland and the Republic each year.
That is based on information from 15 border crossings, which means the true figure will be much higher and gives an indication of the scale of the disruption that would occur if there was a hard border.
For the sake of our economy, it is essential we have the free movement of people and goods, with no barriers to trade.
