Finance Minister visits Smiley Monroe

Government recognize contribution construction industry makes to Northern Ireland economy

Sammy Wilson, Finance Minister in the Northern Ireland Executive, has been visiting firms involved in the construction and quarrying industry to highlight their contribution to the Northern Ireland economy. He visited Smiley Monroe on 21 December 2011.

Established in 1979, Smiley Monroe are Europe's largest producers of endless conveyor belts for a number of different sectors and are due to open a sales office in New Delhi in 2012.

Mr Wilson praised the success of Smiley Monroe in Lisburn during his visit to the firm: ‘I welcome this opportunity to congratulate Smiley Monroe for their resilience in maintaining both their position in the marketplace and employment levels during the present tough economic times we are facing.

‘Reflecting the efforts the company has made in building exports through participating in trade missions to many countries around the world, about 30% of their sales are now to markets outside Northern Ireland.

‘Achieving sales and expert services outside Northern Ireland is vital to accelerating our economic recovery. As Europe faces economic uncertainty, there are many new, rapidly growing markets which offer significant opportunities to Northern Ireland businesses across a range of industry sectors, from life sciences and professional services, to construction and manufacturing. This is why encouraging and assisting many more local companies to engage in export activities is a key theme within Invest Northern Ireland’s Boosting Business initiative.’

Mr Wilson has also been reported as stating that rebuilding the construction industry is a top priority for the Government.

‘We need to build a sustainable construction industry and ensure that high quality businesses can flourish,’ he said.

‘Government recognizes the contribution the construction industry makes to the economy of Northern Ireland and is looking at the capital budget to ascertain what can be done to stimulate this sector.’

Last month's Construction Industry Group report showed that public sector construction output in 2010 was worth just over £1m, amounting to a spend of £590 per head - 16% less than the UK average.

One of the group members, the Quarry Products Association of Northern Ireland, has warned that with reduced public spending, lack of credit and the ‘enormous’ levels of bad debt within the construction industry, 2012 could see a significant number of companies going out of business.

Investment in sectors such as renewable energy, however, has presented a major boost for the construction and aggregates sector with the development of the DONG windfarm hub at Belfast Harbour, creating 150 construction jobs and 1m tonnes of stone from Northern Ireland quarries.