'Big and important': Northern Ireland’s top 100 manufacturing and engineering businesses revealed in annual list

The best-performing manufacturing businesses of the last 12 months have been revealed by Insider in its annual Manufacturing 100 list.

Sponsored by Bank of Ireland, HNH Partners, MCS Group and Power NI, the Northern Ireland Manufacturing 100 features the top manufacturing and engineering businesses based in Northern Ireland by turnover.

The top three feature the same three companies, with top spot once again belonging to poultry producer Moy Park.

Dungannon-based Terex GB, which manufactures mobile crushing and screening machinery for the quarrying, mining, construction and recycling sectors, rose to fourth position this year from ninth spot.

The machine maker saw sales soar from £539m to £687m as the company enjoyed a post-Covid bounce in demand for its hardware. Pre-tax profits increased from £71m to £95m.

Enniskillen glass container maker Encirc jumped from 12th position to seventh in this year's table after seeing revenues increase from £445m to £602m and profits rise from £27m to £59m.

Notable movers in this year's list were Lough Erne Investments which climbed from 25th place to 19th while AJ Power rose from 100th position to 87th. Lisnaskea-based animal processing firm Lough Erne Investments enjoyed a 33% uplift in revenue to £233m, a £58m annual increase for the year ending December 25 2023.

Craigavon diesel generator manufacturer AJ Power has recorded one of its strongest ever financial years. The firm attributed increased worldwide demand for its generating sets for an increase in sales from £31m to £51m. The County Armagh firm's profit-before-tax rose from £0.5m to £3.6m and, it is also investing in a new component manufacturing facility.

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Writing in an accompanying feature piece alongside the Northern Ireland Manufacturing 100 list, Stephen Kelly, CEO of Manufacturing NI, highlighted the vital importance of the sector to Northern Ireland's economy.

He said: "Our manufacturing sector is big and important. Proportionately bigger and more important than in the UK.

"Since 2010, 21% more people have become employed in manufacturing. The sector directly employs almost 100,000 people with every job being wholly responsible for another 1.7 jobs elsewhere in the economy meaning that more than 1 in 4 families across Northern Ireland are dependent on a manufacturing wage."

To see the full list and to read Stephen Kelly’s post, click here.