KES Group celebrates expansion in Strabane Business Park
Pictured (L-R) are George McKinney, Interim Chief Development Officer, Invest NI and Conor McCrossan, Managing Director, KES Group
KES Group has announced the official opening of its Phase 3 expansion at Strabane Business Park, which will see the company significantly increase its advanced manufacturing capacity and create 40 new electrical engineering jobs in Strabane.
KES moved into the Invest Northern Ireland owned business park in 2019. The company initially specialised in the design and manufacture of high-performance, energy-efficient modular buildings, and now also delivers products for global data centre providers.
Invest NI’s support has transformed our business. Since we bought and began to develop land here, we have evolved from a construction company to a technology provider.
Conor McCrossan, Managing Director, KES Group
Conor McCrossan, Managing Director of KES Group, said: “We’re delighted to open the third phase of our state-of-the art facilities today, which will increase our manufacturing capacity and enhance our competitive advantage, enabling us to fulfill more orders and grow our exports.
“Invest NI’s support has transformed our business. Since we bought and began to develop land here, we have evolved from a construction company to a technology provider. From building E-Houses for the data centre market, we are expanding our product offerings to include electrical switchgear and full integrated packages. Invest NI helped us take control of our supply chain, and our 40 new electrical engineers combined with new cutting-edge automation will increase our productivity and enable us to build on our success.”
KES has introduced world leading automated technology to manufacture electrical switchgear products. It has also invested significantly in upstream integration, embedding vertical manufacturing processes. This has enabled it to control every stage of the production cycle.
I’m delighted to recognise KES’ significant transformation, and its creation of 40 highly skilled roles which will add almost £2m in annual salaries to the North West economy.
George McKinney, Interim Chief Development Officer, Invest NI
The 40 new jobs, some of which are already in place, have average salaries of over £48,000. KES' investment will contribute to the company's ambitious export sales growth plans, with its move into the data centre market opening up additional opportunities in Europe, the USA and the Middle East.
George McKinney, Interim Chief Development Officer at Invest NI, visited the new facility to mark the company’s expansion. He said: “KES Group is creating one of the most modern and advanced offsite construction facilities in the UK and Ireland. We have worked with the company for ten years, supporting it to build its first facility at Strabane Business Park in 2019.
“Over this time, we’ve offered KES over £1m to develop its facility, create new jobs, improve productivity and build supply chain resilience. I’m delighted to recognise KES’ significant transformation, and its creation of 40 highly skilled roles which will add almost £2m in annual salaries to the North West economy. We will continue to partner with the company on the final stage of its development and I wish it every success.”
Phase 4, the final phase of the company's expansion, is due to be completed in 2027. This will create manufacturing facilities to service the increasing demand from the data centre market, driven by AI, cloud services and digital transformation. Once complete, the company will have a 13-acre manufacturing footprint on the site and will occupy almost 60% of Strabane Business Park.
