MACHINERY giant Terex has progressed plans for a £9 million factory expansion in Co Antrim.
The US corporation, which acquired Ballymoney metal fabricator JMF in 2015, has formally submitted plans to extend the Frosses Road factory by another 63,000 sq ft.
The move will see Terex add a new assembly line for the manufacture of material handling equipment, including the installation of a new automated powder paint line system.
It comes just weeks after the US group bought Cookstown manufacturer Steelweld Fabrications.
Terex said the acquisition and the investment in Ballymoney form part of its long-term strategy for the Northern Ireland end of its material handling business.
The machinery giant, which initially launched a consultation exercise with the community in Ballymoney earlier this year, has now amended its proposals following public feedback.
The alterations to its original plans include a one-way system for HGVs and measures to mitigate late night traffic noise.
The Ballymoney development is one of the biggest investments by Terex in the north since it set up a £12m facility in Derry during late 2019, creating around 100 jobs.
A heavy recruitment drive launched last year and the Steelweld acquisition has taken the Terex workforce in the north to around 2,000.
The group’s main centres in the north are based in Dugnannon and Omagh.
