Mid Ulster SME’s investing over £850,000 to drive sales

Three Mid Ulster SME’s are investing over £850,000 collectively to support business growth and drive sales. Global Automation, Inspired Tax Incentives and Birnie Consulting will also create 15 jobs in the Mid Ulster District Council area as part of their ambitious growth plans.

Welcoming the investments, Kevin Holland, CEO of Invest Northern Ireland said: “I met with Global Automation, Inspired Tax Incentives and Birnie Consulting this morning. It was great to hear about such important investments by three export-focussed companies. Our Western regional team has been instrumental in supporting each of these companies as they seek to grow sales in markets outside Northern Ireland.

“It is also great to see the entrepreneurial spirit in action of Birnie Consulting and Inspired Tax Incentives as they target further opportunities in GB and RoI. Global Automation is also undertaking a major refurbishment of its current premises in Ballygawley and the creation of eight new jobs, which is testament to its resilience and hardwork over the last 20 years. We look forward to continuing to support these businesses as they grow, enhance their international competitiveness while adding even greater value to the Mid Ulster District Council area.”

Combined, the companies will create 15 jobs, which will contribute almost £400,000 in additional annual salaries to the local economy. Invest NI has offered over £85,000 of support to assist in the creation of the jobs, and marketing activities.

Kevin added: “Invest NI is here to support businesses through challenging economic times and beyond. As we move into a new phase of economic recovery, we will continue to work in partnership with Mid Ulster District Council, and indeed all of the eleven councils, to build a stronger recovery for Northern Ireland.”

Invest NI’s wide range of business support can be explored at investni.com.

Speaking about its decision to make a major investment in its business, Terry Mullin, Director of Global Automation said: “We have been in business for over 20 years. Given the effects of the pandemic, we had to review our business model and look to see how we could sustain our business and grow. As a new digital revolution is well under way, demand for our products and services are increasing, we will be investing £570, 000 to create 8 new jobs and develop and undertake a major redevelopment of our existing premises in Ballygawley. We aim to provide a technology innovation hub for the Mid Ulster Area to assist with innovation, advanced manufacturing and digitalisation.”

Primarily focused on the GB and RoI markets, Inspired Tax Incentives wants to grow its business within these markets, targeting new sectors. Eugene O’Neill, Managing Director of Inspired Tax Incentives said: “We started our business in June 2020 and have grown it since then to offer boutique tax consultancy services to large RoI and GB construction firms. As we edge towards our first year in business, we have experienced steady growth and our ambition is to grow even further. To support this, we have increased our team with six new staff. Our new staff are helping us grow sales in the construction, engineering and manufacturing sectors primarily in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland. Invest NI’s support has been instrumental to our growth so far and has not only helped us to invest in local job creation, but has offered us assistance for marketing activities which is helping us prime our brand for new markets.”

Since establishing in 2017, Birnie Consulting has grown steadily over the last three years and has secured several new contracts in Great Britain. Dr Jonathan Birnie, from Birnie Consulting said: “We work with organisations within the agri-food sector to help them realise their development potential. From only starting our business in 2017, we are proud of what we have achieved so far with customers in NI, RoI and GB. We recently participated on Invest NI’s Accelerating Growth Programme, which gave us a dedicated mentor to help develop our business growth strategy. This has been vital in increasing our confidence and its new offer of support for two new staff and market development activities will help us to grow our business at a faster pace so we can capitalise on identified opportunities and grow our business further in export markets.”