NI bus builder to partner Dutch firm in £11m deal

BALLYMENA-BASED bus builders, Wright Group, have joined forces with a leading Dutch manufacturer to secure an £11 million deal from a London bus operator.

The North’s Economy Minister Arlene Foster will confirm details of the contract during a visit to the Dutch company, VDL Groep, in Eindhoven later today.

Mrs Foster, accompanied by 36 firms, is taking part in an Invest Northern Ireland trade mission to the Netherlands this week.

“This contract shows that despite the current difficult economic conditions local manufacturers in sectors such as engineering can compete and above all succeed in export markets, taking advantage, for instance, of the favourable sterling rate,” Mrs Foster said.

The contract will see the Wright Group and VDL Groep supply the London bus operator, Arriva, with 57 buses.

The family-owned and managed group has described the contract as “significant” and said it highlighted what can be achieved when companies come together.

This is the latest in a series of major new international contracts that the Wright Group, which was founded in 1946, has secured.

Last year it won an order worth more than £125 million to supply new vehicles to FirstGroup plc, a leading UK and North American bus operator.

The latest boost for the Ballymena group comes as one of the major banks in the North announces a new £250 mil-lion package of support for businesses.

Ulster Bank plans to offer a new “package of funding choices” to small to medium-sized businesses.

As part of the initiative the bank will provide debt finance and give businesses other options to help them manage their capital and cash flow.

The bank said it will offer customers a “wide range of financial support including unsecured small business loans up to £25,000 at competitive rates and trading business loans”.

Henry Elvin, head of business banking at Ulster Bank, said the £250 million fund aims to help address the concerns of its customers in challenging economic conditions.

The development has been described as a step in the right direction by Wilfred Mitchell from the Federation of Small Businesses in Northern Ireland.