Business

CDE Global to create 110 new jobs as part of £6.8m expansion plan

First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness pictured with Alastair Hamilton, Chief Executive Invest NI; Brendan McGurgan, managing director of CDE; and Enterprise Minister, Jonathan Bell. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye
First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness pictured with Alastair Hamilton, Chief Executive Invest NI; Brendan McGurgan, managing director of CDE; and Enterprise Minister, Jonathan Bell. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye First Minister Arlene Foster and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness pictured with Alastair Hamilton, Chief Executive Invest NI; Brendan McGurgan, managing director of CDE; and Enterprise Minister, Jonathan Bell. Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye

Cookstown-based CDE Global is creating 110 jobs in a £6.8 million investment - one of the biggest in Co Tyrone in years.

The firm, which makes heavy machinery for the mining and construction industries, is extending its factory base and building a new head office, while expanding its customer base internationally as part of a six-year growth strategy.

It is the second significant jobs boost at the company in less than two years - in 2014 the company announced 50 jobs for the town as a result of a £3m investment to expand its export reach.

The latest posts will be aimed at both graduates and experienced workers and will cover a variety of disciplines in manufacturing, research and development, marketing and engineering.

Created over the next six years, they will generate almost £2.5 million annually in additional salaries to the local economy.

First Minister Arlene Foster said: "This is an extremely positive investment from the world's premier provider of specialist washing systems in important sectors including construction and mining.

"This expansion will support CDE as it looks to further develop its customer base in international markets. Growing and strengthening our indigenous manufacturing sector is a priority for the Northern Ireland Executive and Invest NI's support of £1.3m for this project will ensure CDE has the resources it needs to full realise its export potential."

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness added: "This investment signals CDE's continued commitment to Cookstown and its confidence in the local workforce.

"CDE is a first-class engineering company successfully exporting innovative bespoke materials across the world. It is an excellent example of how the capabilities of our local manufacturing sector can be developed for international success."

Headquartered in Cookstown, CDE also has operations in the USA, Brazil, Australia and Asia, where it secured a major deal to provide its modular sand washing plant to Associated Construction Company in Kuwait in February.

At the time, business development manager for the Middle East, Ruchin Garg, said the company's integrated mobile washing products had become a "solution of choice" in the Middle East's growing construction sector.

In the same month, the company, which currently employs 201 people, was named in the London Stock Exchange's '1000 Companies to Inspire Britain' report, pinpointing firms growing at an average annual rate of 25 per cent.

Revenues at CDE Global rose by 25 per cent from £30 million to £40m last year, ranking the company among 20 high-worth firms in the north which feature in the landmark 'Inspire' report.

Commenting on yesterday's announcement, Brendan McGurgan, CDE's managing director, said it was an "important investment" as the firm focused on new business in the USA and Europe.

"The CDE vision is to be the number one wet processing equipment company in every country in the world - and expanding our facilities and workforce in Cookstown underpins this ambition," he said.