Kitchen maker and fit-out firm creates 57 jobs with expansion
ONE of Northern Ireland’s largest kitchen manufacturing firms has announced plans to take on 57 people as part of a £4m expansion plan which aims to double its sales revenue.
Co Antrim manufacturing firm Woodland broke into the hospitality market with fit-out work carried out in luxury London hotels and apartment schemes. The firm also supplies bathrooms and kitchens to major retailers, such as Wickes.
Over the next few months, it will also carry out fit-out work at Belfast’s Grand Central Hotel.
The £4m has been spent on a new showroom, marketing suite, expansion to the production plant as well as a new product development centre at its base in Rasharkin.
The family-run business also runs a 100,000 sq ft manufacturing facility and also has its own design team so it can stay ahead of the trends.
Woodland was founded by Brian McCloskey 30 years ago and today employs 106 people.
Invest NI offered more than £470,000 towards the investment. The new jobs, 30 of which are already in place, include production, design, sales and IT staff.
Managing director Brian McCloskey said: “After a considerable amount of market research, design concepts and inspiration we are delighted to launch our new product development and marketing suite, which coincides with our 13th year in business.
“Our growth strategy in recent years has focused on positioning Woodland as a complete design and solutions provider.
“As a result, we have made encouraging progress in securing contracts to design, manufacture and supply cabinets to major distributors throughout Great Britain.
“We have also experienced strong growth in the hotel and aparthotel sector for our contracts division by delivering projects in London, Edinburgh and Dublin.
“This new investment, will give us the additional resources and capabilities we need to implement an aggressive marketing campaign to help us win new business.”