US plastics firm, Colorite, is to invest £5.5 million sterling at the Springbank Industrial Estate, which is expected to create around 40 jobs. The company produces the raw material for use in plastic medical devices and car components.
Colorite is a division of PureTec International, from Ridgefield, New Jersey, which employs more than 2,000 people in its US factories. It also has plants in Belgium and Italy. Company president, Mr Robert Brookman, said that around a third of its production would be sold to Irish customers.
"We will be training some employees on site, and taking others to train in a similar plant in New Jersey," he said. "When they come back, they'll be able to run this plant without difficulty."
Mr Brookman said that production at the west Belfast plant was expected to begin in March of next year, and it was eventually hoped to employ around 100 people in the Northern Ireland operation. He said that the street disturbances during the summer had not caused the company to reconsider its decision to locate in Northern Ireland.
"We're happy to be here," he said. "We have a large customer base in Ireland, and that's important to us. We don't look at the political upheaval as being a significant problem for us."
