A Portadown company are planning on opening a new £40million industrial park in Craigavon.
Chinese-owned airline seat manufacturer Thompson Aero Seating hope to build a 350,000sq ft production facility in a move that will consolidate its five existing sites into one.
Last month the company submitted a pre-planning application notice (PAN) for a major new manufacturing, assembly, research and testing facility on a 100-acre site close to Craigavon’s retail hub.
That application was accepted and a full application is expected imminently.
A public consultation event had been due to take place at the Seagoe Hotel on September 4 but has been postponed.
The event was to outline further plans and drawings for the huge development, which is hoped to be operational by 2021.
Thompson Aero, which makes business-class seats for airlines such as Lufthansa and Delta, was acquired by state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China three years ago.
Thompson Aero chief executive Andres Budo, speaking to Ulster Business, said: “We are going to have additional internal capabilities. That will be roughly 350,000 sq ft with the possibility of having an industrial park where key suppliers can set up to support us. They will have the ability to land on our industrial park.”
Alongside new offices, marketing space and an employee well-being centre, the development will entail new roads, infrastructure and an electricity substation.
It will be positioned between the A27 Mandeville Road and on Knockmenagh Road, close to the Tesco superstore.
The value of the project was estimated at around £40m by Construction Information Services Ireland.
