£2.5m rural investment scheme to deliver 130 jobs

A £2.5m investment is on track to create over 130 new jobs for rural businesses in Derry and Strabane through a Rural Business Investment Scheme.
Pictured celebrating the £2.5million investment is: Conor Mc Crossan, Managing Director of KES Group Ltd; Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Michaela Boyle; Chair of the Local Action Group of the Derry and Strabane Rural Partnership, Councillor Jim McKeever and Fiona McCandless, Deputy Secretary of DAERA. Pic by Brian ThompsonPictured celebrating the £2.5million investment is: Conor Mc Crossan, Managing Director of KES Group Ltd; Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Michaela Boyle; Chair of the Local Action Group of the Derry and Strabane Rural Partnership, Councillor Jim McKeever and Fiona McCandless, Deputy Secretary of DAERA. Pic by Brian Thompson
Pictured celebrating the £2.5million investment is: Conor Mc Crossan, Managing Director of KES Group Ltd; Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Michaela Boyle; Chair of the Local Action Group of the Derry and Strabane Rural Partnership, Councillor Jim McKeever and Fiona McCandless, Deputy Secretary of DAERA. Pic by Brian Thompson

The funding is supporting 55 rural businesses with capital investment projects that are creating jobs and enhancing export potential with 73 jobs already in place.

Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Cllr. Michaela Boyle, said: “This multi-million pound windfall has helped create 73 new jobs so far for the local economy by supporting local businesses with the acquisition and installation of state-of-the-art equipment, the extension of existing premises, and the delivery of training and marketing provisions.

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“We fully expect the number of total jobs the scheme will deliver will increase to over 130 full and part-time positions as the rural businesses complete their projects over the next six months, a further significant boost to the area.”

Strabane based Modular Building manufacturer, KES Group Ltd, is one local business to have secured funding from the scheme for the installation of state-of-the-art machinery and the creation of 3 new jobs as part of a larger recruitment drive.

Managing director Conor Mc Crossan said: “The Rural Business Investment Scheme funding will allow us to purchase a Panel Production and Saw Line to enable the manufacturing of Structural Insulated Panels (SIPs), a key component in the wider manufacturing process of modular buildings and pre-fabricated plant rooms. This project is running in tandem with our ambitious expansion to a new £3m facility on the outskirts of Strabane that will house our company’s entire business operations.

Chair of the Local Action Group of the Derry and Strabane Rural Partnership, Cllr. Jim McKeever said: “Our Rural Business Investment Scheme has exceeded all expectations and has played a vital role in our local economy and made a significant impact on our rural community. We were inundated with applications throughout each of the six rounds of funding, and we worked meticulously with applicants to guide them through each stage ensuring they had their business plan developed, match funding secured, planning permission granted, and the necessary quotations in place.”