This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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Alasdair Morrison launches jobs boost project for Ayrshire
18/12/2000
A new bottling line that will create 20 jobs in Ayrshire was opened by Deputy Minister for Enterprise, Alasdair Morrison today.
The facility at Rockware Glass Limited in Irvine received a Regional Selective Assistance grant from the Executive that was key towards securing the production line.
Speaking at the official opening during a trip to Ayrshire that also included visiting the Ayrshire Business Technology Centre, Mr Morrison said:
"I very much welcome the opportunity to see the benefits of the recent multi-million pound investment which has been made in Rockware's Irvine factory.
"A Regional Selective Assistance grant provided by the Scottish Executive was key towards securing the new production facility, the first major investment at this plant for twenty years. The new bottling line will increase the plant's production capacity by up to 40%."
"This is good news for Rockware and good news for its local workforce. The new bottling line has brought with it 20 new jobs and safeguarded many more. We all know how important such new opportunities are to Ayrshire. The increased productivity has boosted future competitiveness and I look forward to seeing the company continue to prosper here in the future."
Mr Morrison then spent some time at the Ayrshire Business Technology Centre, where he met local companies who are benefiting from the business support services offered by Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire.
Meeting companies located in the Software Centre, Mr Morrison commented:
"Here at the Business Technology Centre we can see the successful results of the wide range of support services offered to high growth start-ups.
"The current tenants of the centre have demonstrated a high degree of success and future potential.
"Four of the companies have taken on a total of six additional staff since coming to the centre and two companies have had to expand into additional suites to meet workload demands. A software engineering company, PRL (Scotland) Limited, has just won a £45,000 SMART award from the Scottish Executive to help with the research and development of a new product.
"It is easy to see why the Software Centre is becoming the focal point of software industry activity in Ayrshire and the Executive is committed to supporting ventures such as this across the country."
BACKGROUND
1. Rockware Glass Limited is UK's largest manufacturer of glass containers. They are owned by Ardagh plc based in Dublin, having previously been owned by Owens Illinois and BTR.
2. Rockware has 4 manufacturing sites in the UK - Worksop, Knottingley, Doncaster and Irvine. Production at Irvine concentrates on supplying bottles to the UK spirits market. Irvine's turnover to December 1999 was £30m, representing 57% of group sales of spirit containers. Major customers supplied by Irvine include UDV, Jim Beam, William Grant, Campbell Distillers and Halewood International.
3. The Ayrshire Business Technology Centre is based at Riverside Business Park, Irvine and forms a key delivery arm of the services provided by Scottish Enterprise Ayrshire (SEA). The Minister will be able to see at first hand the business support provided by SEA and hear from them about the current development opportunities in Ayrshire.
4. The Business Technology Centre houses three business units for SE Ayrshire, these being:
- The Business Technology Centre
- Ayrshire Small Business Gateway
News Release: SE3249/2000
18 Dec 2000