THE £68 million plant opened by the American computer firm Seagate Technology at Limavady in Co Derry last week is expected to employ 750 people when it reaches full production sometime within the next two years.

The plant, which manufactures nickel-plated aluminium substrates - a component of the hard disk drives assembled at the company's plant in Clonmel - already employs over 400 people. It brings Seagate's total investment in Northern Ireland over the past four years to more than £400 million, and its total workforce to around 1,500, over 1,000 of them employed at the company's plant on Derry's Springtown Industrial Estate.

Mr Bill Selvig, the vice-president of the substrates operations for Seagate Recording Media Group, said that during the company's country and site selection process, it had been constantly impressed by the calibre of the workforce in Northern Ireland.

"The Limavady team spent over three months training in the US," he said, "supported by a number of Seagate sites, and by several of our key equipment suppliers. They worked in robotic operations, computerised numerical control programming, advanced repair programmes, and electroless nickel plating."

Secretary of State Dr Mo Mowlam said that Seagate had brought jobs to the north-west, for decades an area of high unemployment.