Up to 200 jobs are to be created in Northern Ireland in a major expansion of a company that makes remote tyre-pressure monitors.
Schrader Electronics, owned by Thomkins of London, is to build a new factory in Carrickfergus, Co Antrim.
The 4,350-square-metre plant will complement its existing plant a few miles away in Antrim town where 300 people are employed.
Schrader makes electronic devices that are attached to the inside of the wheel rim of vehicles and are designed to transmit a readout of tyre pressure to a dashboard display.
The United States is soon to make them compulsory on all cars produced there, with legislation due to be introduced in November. It is expected that Europe will soon follow suit.
The Northern Ireland operation is the only part of Thomkins that makes the devices and in recent months the company has doubled its production for General Motors, supplying monitors for its four-wheel drive vehicles.
The company said the new Carrickfergus plant would help support future orders and satisfy growing market demand for the safety feature over the coming years.
PA