Northern Ireland bus group to create 130 jobs

The Ballymena bus group Wrights plans to invest more than £14 million in five research and development projects and create 130 jobs in Northern Ireland.

The family-owned business, which has been trading for 68 years, employs about 1,800 people locally and is one of the North’s most successful export companies. It manufactures a variety of buses from full size single deckers to two and three axle double deckers and has helped pioneer hybrid electric buses.

Wright buses have become an integral part of the public transport infrastructure in many leading cities around the world from London to Hong Kong, Dublin and Las Vegas.

The company intends to create the 130 new jobs at its Wright En-Drive division which specialises in designing and manufacturing integral vehicle chassis.

It revealed yesterday that its latest investment programme, which will receive financial support totalling more than £2.4 million from Invest NI, is designed to help the company expand its growing overseas business.

Mark Nodder, group managing director, said: "Our aim is to become a world class designer and manufacturer of integral public transport vehicles and evolve into a major international supplier to the worldwide bus market.

“This investment brings us a step closer to achieving that. With Invest NI’s support we will be able to bring products to market quickly, and we anticipate that within four years we can triple export sales.”

The new R&D projects include developing a range of low-cost premium class buses and coaches for the Indian market and low height and narrower double deckers for the Australia /New Zealand market.