US CONTRIBUTORS:A NUMBER of North American business figures were full of praise yesterday for the advantages of locating in Northern Ireland.
Mike Zafirovski, chief executive and president of communications company Nortel, said his plant in Co Antrim was "a very big success for us". The workforce there was among the most energised in the group.
Referring to "global business done locally", he said the communications sector looked to the next generation of broadband connectivity. "Our return on investment in Northern Ireland has been very high," he said. "We saw in Northern Ireland many years ago the opportunities that exist today."
He praised the new "stable political and regulatory environment". Economic growth opportunities existed, especially in the broadband sector, and he praised the performance of his company's investments in Monkstown, Co Antrim, and in Galway.
Jim Foster, chief administrative officer of Citi, said his company's decision to develop a greenfield investment "had worked extremely well". He praised particularly the ability of technology graduates, many of whom make up the near 500 staff now in the North - which was not chosen simply as a low-cost location.
John Spangler, managing director of Seagate Technology, said his Derry plant employed 1,300 people and about 100 with PhDs.
About a third of all PCs in the world had a component made in Northern Ireland, he said, adding that the Derry plant was among the lowest-cost plants anywhere.
In the arena of product development, Mr Spangler said it was possible to compete with Asian plants on production costs.
Echoing other contributors, he said up to five active projects were run in connection with the universities, including semi-conductor development using atomic spacing technologies. The local labour pool was talented and he praised the quality and standard of life.
Brian Goggin of Bank of Ireland said it decided to invest locally just last year. "We are excited by the potential for growth and development," he said. "Stability and peace have arrived."
Cathy Brune of Allstate Insurance said her organisation was "wildly successful" since investing in the North just after the Belfast Agreement nearly 10 years ago. Originally the company envisaged just a handful of employees, now there were 250 who were as good as any in the world, she added.
Sir Reg Empey, Minister for Employment and Learning, praised US investors' "can-do spirit". He said that same quality could be found in Northern Ireland and stressed the contribution his further education and learning department could make to foreign direct investment entrepreneurs.
