Eighty new jobs have been created following a £2.7 million sterling investment at Seagoe Technologies in Craigavon, Co Armagh, which is a subsidiary of the Dunleer-based Glen Dimplex Group.Seagoe employs over 280 people making a range of electric storage heaters for customers in the UK, mainland Europe, Japan, and Scandinavia.The managing director, Mr Jack Gault, said that the investment, which is being backed by the Industrial Development Board, would allow the company to increase production to 300,000 units next year and maintain downward pressure on production costs. "It has involved re-engineering our main productsand the processes required to manufacture them in order to achieve greater efficiency," he said."This is particularly important because we are operating in a very competitive market against a wide range of heating systems."Mr Gault said that focusing on cost reduction and increased efficiency would help to establish the company as the most efficient producer of storage heaters in Europe.The jobs created at Craigavon are largely the result of a rationalisation within the Glen Dimplex Group, involving the closure of a factory in Southampton last year with the loss of 250 jobs.Glen Dimplex is one of the world's largest manufacturers of heating systems. It has 17 manufacturing plants and more than 6,000 employees worldwide.Seagoe was set up at the former Unidare Environmental plant last April after the Glen Dimplex Group decided to centralise the production of storage heaters. The factory was acquired by the group in 1995.It currently exports more than one third of its output to mainland Europe and the Asia Pacific region.

The investment project is being supported by a grant of £700,000 from the IDB.The Northern Ireland Economy Minister, Mr Adam Ingram, who announced the investment, said that the Glen group, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, had created the world's biggest storage heater manufacturing plant in Craigavon. "This group, now a global industry leader and one of our most successful exporters, is investing to improve overall efficiency by introducing new production tooling and the latest machinery," he said.The group reported annual sales of more than £500 million for 1996.