[Andy H]

What awful journalism! Firstly Joe Jordan says plans are under threat, then spokesman for accor confirms the group ARE opening a hotel in the summer, making no reference to the headline before having a gender change and refusing to give further details. All in all the article appears to be a hashed up series of unrelated stories which add up to not very much at all.

The protests are embarrassing, damaging, and wholly avoidable with proper leadership but it is encouraging to see people returning to the city in large numbers.

I think in other reports he refers specifically to Novotel, which will be on Great Victoria street rather than Dublin Road, very lazy journalism as someone said. Accor probably thinking opening two new hotels might be a bit ambitious, riots and protests wouldn't help I suppose.

I do think Joe Jordan's underlying point is correct though - media reporting is very damaaging, local media being the most guilty, automatically report something as a 'riot' and a tense 'situation' (word should be banned in NI!) when in reality it is a some thugs throwing things at a static police line, localised to one or two streets in East Belfast. I think in any other country it would be ignored and not make the news or affect whether people would choose to visit a country or not. However, beacuse of our past, people automically assume the whole thing is going to kick off again and its too dangerous to visit. Whereas we all see protests and riots in Athens and Madrid etc, but wouldn't stop us going for a minute...

Do you think it is the perception that it is linked to paramilitaries that makes things worse here?

 

[thevanishin]

I'm not convinced by that at all. When you consider that major hotel chains such as Hilon, Accor, Sheraton, Marriott etc have hotels in Damascus, Beirut, Baghdad, Cairo etc, they would have no reason to be worried about business in a place like Belfast.

Also, how on earth would they play that card? Would they abandon a half-built hotel? Sell off the completed building? Either way they would be taking a huge financial hit and leaving themselves open to lawsuits.

I reckon it'll open as planned.

 

[Andy H]

I'm not convinced by that at all. When you consider that major hotel chains such as Hilon, Accor, Sheraton, Marriott etc have hotels in Damascus, Beirut, Baghdad, Cairo etc, they would have no reason to be worried about business in a place like Belfast.

Also, how on earth would they play that card? Would they abandon a half-built hotel? Sell off the completed building? Either way they would be taking a huge financial hit and leaving themselves open to lawsuits.

I reckon it'll open as planned.

I know what you mean, they wouldn't care as long as they thought there was money to be made!

The point I was making was that Joe Jordan mentioned the novotel, the one on the site of fannum house that hasn't even started. He didn't mention the half built etap on Dublin road, which accor have said they will open this summer. The accor press release just mentioned 'other development plans' and didn't refer to novotel specifically. Media have not bothered to look into this at all!

 

[thevanishin]

Belfast Telegraph have a quote from Accor, who have confirmed that they are definitely going ahead with current project as planned (Etap) and have other development plans for the near future, which is presumably Novotel.

 

[belfastuniguy]

I don't believe Accor will stop any of their planned developments. Big companies have a longer term outlook when it comes to investment and development. Belfast needs hotels and they aren't going to give up that opportunity so readily.

 

[belfastuniguy]

Caterpillar creating 200 jobs in west Belfast

The global manufacturing firm Caterpillar is to create 200 administrative jobs in west Belfast.

The jobs will service its operations in Northern Ireland and overseas.

They follow cuts to the manufacturing side of the business announced last year.

US-based Caterpillar bought over the Northern Ireland engineering firm FG Wilson - which makes diesel generator sets - in 1999.

In September last year, it said it was making 760 people redundant across its three locations in west Belfast, Newtownabbey and Larne.

But on Tuesday it announced it is creating 200 "shared services jobs" on the administrative side.

The new jobs will be located at its Springvale site in west Belfast.

BBC News

 

[odlum833]

Seems like a move up the value chain expansion following the redundancies which bodes well. Less jobs but higher value and always room for future expansion. This shows an economy moving forward rather than back.

 

[belfastuniguy]

Ballymena company Wrightbus gets order for 179 buses


Ballymena company Wrightbus has won an order for 179 buses from the biggest bus and rail operator in the UK.

The £28m order is for 179 of the Ballymena company's smaller lightweight buses.

The StreetLite range has been developed entirely by Wrightbus.

Managing director Mark Nodder said this was a "new era" for the company as it was now designing, developing and building buses from scratch.

The order will require investment in a new chassis building facility, but overall job numbers at the Ballymena company are not significantly affected.

Wrightbus employs about 1,000 people in the bus division with another 400 in related companies.

The company has been making buses for FirstGroup for 17 years and this is the latest in a long line of orders.

Last year it signed a £41m deal to supply 550 double-decker buses to Singapore.

But its biggest deal is pending from Transport for London in an expected order for 600 so-called Boris Buses - the modern replacement for the iconic routemaster - now named after the London Mayor.


BBC News



A fantastic local success story! WrightBus are going from strength to strength.

 

[belfastuniguy]

Tayto to create 58 jobs in Northern Ireland


The crisp and snack company Tayto Group Ltd is to create 58 new jobs in Northern Ireland.

The firm is committing nearly £6m in additional wages and salaries over the next five years. Tayto is the third largest crisp and snack manufacturer in the UK. It currently employs 390 staff at Tandragee Castle in County Armagh and a further 900 at its other UK sites.

Enterprise minister Arlene Foster said Tayto's investment in new jobs reflected the company's "ongoing commitment to the local area".

Invest Northern Ireland has offered Tayto £232,000 of support through the Jobs Fund to assist with its expansion.

Tayto's chief executive Paul Allen said the positions had been created as part of its long-term strategy to increase the capacity of its facilities in Northern Ireland and "to meet increased demand, both nationally and internationally".

"While we are now very much a national company, our home is very definitely in County Armagh." he said.

Tayto also has plants in Scunthorpe, Corby, Wolverhampton and Bolton.

The firm owns a number of major brands including Real, Fusion, Tayto, Golden Wonder, Rough Cuts and Mr Porky.

 

[belfastuniguy]

Jam Media set to create up to 40 new jobs in Belfast

Up to 40 jobs are set to be created at a media production company in Belfast.

Jam Media plans to establish a dedicated production and special effects facility at its premises on Sandy Row in the south of the city.

The company was established in Dublin in 2002. It is best known for its work on the BAFTA-winning children's TV series, Roy.

The show features Roy as "Ireland's only cartoon boy". It is broadcast by both CBBC and Irish broadcaster, RTE.

It mixes animation with live action, where real life screen actors interact with the cartoon schoolboy.

Last year, Roy won the best drama prize at the 2012 British Academy Children's Awards and last month, it won the Irish Film and Television Academy Award (IFTA) for the best children's/youth programme.

In Belfast, Jam Media has set up a base in Murray's Exchange - the refurbished Whitehall Tobacco Works building - on Sandy Row.

Stormont's Enterprise Minister, Arlene Foster, welcomed the new jobs during a visit to the company on Wednesday.

 

[belfastuniguy]

Tesco to double amount of Northern Ireland-sourced meat

Tesco has said it is to double the amount of fresh meat it sources in Northern Ireland.

The plan was announced by the company's chief executive Philip Clarke during a visit to Belfast on Thursday.

Tesco already spends around £500m a year on NI-sourced produce.

The move will mean the amount of Northern Ireland-sourced meat will rise from 20% to 90% in the company's local supermarkets.

Mr Clarke is opening a new institute for global food security at Queen's University.

During a speech, he described a new world where greater global demand for quality food was shifting power towards suppliers.

The Institute for Global Food Security (IGFS) is aimed at improving food safety around the world.

QUB has invested over £33m in the IGFS, which will play a key role in improving the integrity of the food chain.

It comes in the wake of the horsemeat controversy that led to investigations into the food supply chain.

Prof Chris Elliott, director of the new institute, said: "We want to build a food-fortress, ensuring everything we import is of the highest quality and that what we sell locally and internationally is also 100% safe, nutritious and authentic.

"This new institute will ensure that we can continue to recruit the best students into our food programmes, creating the food leaders of the future who have been trained in one of the world's best-equipped research laboratories."

The production and processing of food plays a critical role in the Northern Ireland economy, with the sector providing 85,000 jobs and generating sales of £5.2bn each year.

Retail analyst Dr Clive Black said the food industry was the most important sector in the Northern Ireland economy.

"The Northern Ireland economy is under some pressure, government funding is going to go down, so it's more important than ever that the food industry in this region, is competitive, innovative, and it's entrepreneurial," he said.

"Today is all about those things and bringing Philip Clarke here and opening a world class institute, I think shows the Northern Ireland food industry at its best, and it has to build on that."

BBC News

 

[belfastuniguy]

US technology firm creates 70 new jobs in Belfast

An American technology firm is to create 70 new jobs worth an extra £2.7 million-a-year to the Northern Ireland economy, it has been revealed.

Merchant Warehouse, which provides payment technologies and services to around 80,000 customers, plans to set up a development and customer support hub in Belfast.

"This kind of high calibre investment reinforces Northern Ireland's position as an excellent location for specialist firms in the important IT and financial services sectors," Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said.

Ms Foster said Belfast had staved off tough competition from other locations.

"It was aided by very positive reports from other US investors who have set up here, who promoted the availability of highly qualified staff, and the strong support from local universities and government agencies, as well as cultural and logistical alignment," she added.

Henry Helgeson, Merchant Warehouse's chief executive officer, said the Invest NI funding had been crucial in securing the deal.

"We have been at the forefront of product innovation in the area of payment technologies and we are confident that the new Belfast centre, which will support our accelerated product evolution and enhance our overall customer support, will help us to maintain our competitive edge," he said.

Invest NI offered the Boston-based company £840,000 to assist with the job creation.

Belfast Telegraph

 

[belfastuniguy]

Galgorm Castle Estates creates more than 60 new jobs in Ballymena

More than 60 full and part-time jobs are to be created with the expansion of Galgorm Castle Estates in Ballymena, County Antrim. The estate currently consists of a 17th Century castle, a courthouse housing 20 businesses and a golf course.

The developers have announced an £8m investment that will see the castle undergo extensive renovations so it can be opened to the public. They also plan to open a new 32,000 sq ft garden centre on the estate.

The developers are to restore the castle's Jacobean walled garden to its original style, in an attempt to attract thousands of new visitors to the estate.

 

[belfastuniguy]

Optimism as Belfast tourism figures on the rise

Belfast's hotel rooms and docks are filling up with eager visitors, according to a new report.

STR Global said an an influx of visitors to the city helped boost sales of hotel rooms by 14% in 2012 while the Belfast Visitor and Convention Bureau (BVCB), which commissioned the research, said a record number of cruise ships are due to visit in 2013. It has 58 vessels, with around 108,000 passengers and crew, on its books for this year – up from the 44 vessels which visited in 2012.

Meanwhile, the research showed average occupancy in Belfast's hotels stood at 74% in 2012, up from 66% in 2011 with monthly occupancy rates peaking at 89% in the summer.

Just under one million hotel rooms were sold throughout the year and room revenue rose by 18%.

BVCB is charged with developing tourism in Belfast and released the data while reviewing its own performance last year.

The organisation said its marketing activities contributed £60m to the local economy in 2012 by generating 313,000 tourist bed nights and 217,000 day trips to the city, according to STR Global and other independent research sources.

It also said its conference team generated 21,000 delegate attendees and 63,000 bed nights to the city in 2012 with an economic value of £27m, up 70% on 2011.

BVCB said it wants to grow hotel bed nights by a further 8%, bringing in 31,000 conference and events delegates which it says will have an economic impact value of £37m.

Belfast Lord Mayor Gavin Robinson welcomed the figures:

"It (BVCB) is a first-class example of one of the city's most successful public-private partnerships, with a proven track record in delivering the city's tourism, marketing, sales and visitor services.

BVCB chief executive Gerry Lennon said the future is bright:

"From a tourism perspective, Belfast is in a strong position to grow further in 2013 and we have much to look forward to."

He added: "Our aim is to ensure that Belfast performs well in the competition for local and international visitors and that tourism continues to deliver local growth while sustaining and creating new jobs."

BVCB is a partnership supported by Belfast City Council, NITB and commercial partners Diageo NI and Value Cabs. Its membership also includes around 500 businesses from the city's tourism and hospitality industry.

 

[belfastuniguy]

Deloitte to create 177 technology jobs in Belfast

The worldwide financial consultancy firm Deloitte is to create 177 new jobs in Belfast.

The new positions will be in the fields of information and communication technologies, and will be located in the firm's Belfast technology studio. It is a part of the business that helps companies in sectors such as retail and banking. Invest NI is providing about £1.2m towards the investment.

Economy minister Arlene Foster said the jobs were proof of Northern Ireland's reputation for excellence in the technology sector. She described it as an "important and prestigious investment".

The jobs will provide employment opportunities for new and experienced graduates and it is estimated that £6m in salaries will be put into the Northern Ireland economy.

Deloitte technology partner Danny McConnell said the investment represented "a significant step up" from its previous ambitions in Northern Ireland, and was a direct response to new opportunities it had identified in "specialist and integrated analytics, digital and testing services".

"The fact that we have chosen to further develop our technology studio in Belfast is testament to the skilled workforce and advanced infrastructure in Northern Ireland," he added.

Deloitte said the majority of jobs would be "tailored to graduates and mid-low level entry positions".

 

[belfastuniguy]

£15m distillery plans approved

Niche Drinks , the company behind St Brendan's Irish Cream Liqueur, has been granted planning permission for a purpose-built factory complex at Campsie.

Bosses say the distillery will revive a 200-year-old tradition of whiskey production in Derry and will provide security for 92 long-term jobs.

"It is a great hurdle for us to get over," said Ciaran Mulgrew, managing director of Niche Drinks.

"Our business has remained strong even in the current climate and we have to plan for the future. We want to increase our production capacity and to add new technologies into the business and that is why we are building a distillery in the new factory."

For the past 30 years Niche Drinks has operated out of Leckpatrick Dairy on Rossdowney Road in the Waterside.

Planning permission is being sought to change the use of the site from manufacturing to a supermarket which the company then intends to sell on.

"Over the last 30 years, Niche Drinks have paid around £300 million in corporation tax, duty, PAYE and in sourcing local inputs. For a locally owned business like ours, building a new drinks factory and distillery is a big commitment. We are keeping our fingers crossed for an early decision on our application for a change of use of our current site to supermarket use and we will then invest the proceeds from a sale of that site into the new facility," added Mr Mulgrew.

St Brendan's Irish Cream is exported to more than 30 countries including the US, Japan, Russia and Australia. Niche Drinks also produces a range of own-brand liqueurs for supermarkets such as Marks and Spencer and Sainsbury's.

Mark Durkan, SDLP MLA for Foyle, said the distillery would provide a welcome boost for the local economy. "They are a can-do company who can do well for the local economy as they develop this new dimension to their business and return this old product to the city."

 

[belfastuniguy]

179 new jobs at Dungannon meat plant Linden Foods

One hundred and seventy-nine new jobs are to be created at a County Tyrone food plant.

Linden Foods, a meat processing company in Dungannon, is investing £5m to grow its business in Northern Ireland. It is being supported by Invest NI with funding of £520,000.

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said: "This investment is very welcome news for the food industry which is a key contributor to Northern Ireland's economy." "The 179 new production and managerial positions, to be created in Dungannon with support from the Jobs Fund, will generate over £2.5m annually in additional salaries," she said. "This is a fantastic boost to the local area, the local community and to the wider Northern Ireland economy."

Trevor Lockhart, chairman of Linden Foods, said the investment underlined his company's commitment to Dungannon.

"The support from Invest NI through its Jobs Fund will allow us to create the workforce we need to meet the demand for our range of new and innovative products among export customers and enable us to cement our leading position within the meat processing industry," he said.

Two years ago Linden Foods opened a new purpose-built facility close to the company's main processing site at Granville.

 

[belfastuniguy]

Tayto takes on 58 new staff

Tayto NI is the third largest crisp and snack manufacturer in the UK and one of Northern Ireland’s best known food companies. Based in Tandragee, in the famous Tandragee Castle, the company has been trading for over 50 years and now also has plants in Scunthorpe, Corby, Wolverhampton and Bolton.

The company wanted to increase the capacity of its Tandragee plant by creating 58 new jobs and approached Invest Northern Ireland for support to help it to put the jobs in place quickly.

Invest NI offered assistance under its Jobs Fund, which is helping companies create jobs and get people back into work. By 2014 Invest NI aims to have supported the creation of 4,000 jobs through this measure, which is part of its Boosting Business initiative.

Paul Allen, Tayto’s Chief Executive, said: “These new positions have been created as part of our long-term strategy to increase the capacity of our facilities here in Northern Ireland to meet increased demand, both nationally and internationally.

While we are now very much a national company, our home is very definitely in County Armagh.”

In the past six years the company has experienced significant growth through acquisition and now owns a number of major brands including Real, Fusion, Tayto, Golden Wonder, Rough Cuts and Mr Porky.

Tayto currently employs 390 staff at Tandragee Castle, and a further 900 at its other UK sites. When in place the new jobs will contribute some £1,160,000 a year in salaries to the local economy.

 

[Boba Fett22]

I love tayto mmmmm lol.

 

[belfastuniguy]

More jobs

Allstate announces 650 jobs for Northern Ireland

The American insurance company, Allstate, has said it will create 650 jobs at its Northern Ireland operation over the next three years.

The firm currently employs 1,900 people at its premises in Belfast, Londonderry and Strabane.

Almost 200 of the software development, software testing, infrastructure services and analytics posts have already been filled.

The remaining 450 will be recruited by 2016.

Allstate Northern Ireland was established in Belfast in 1998 and provides high quality software development services and high end business solutions.

First Minister Peter Robinson said: "This announcement of hundreds of new high quality jobs by a top Fortune 100 company sends out a clear and unequivocal message to international investors to have confidence in Northern Ireland as a competitive location from which to grow their business."