Construction work is well advanced on a £2.5m cold storage and blast freezing facility in Co Tyrone.

Ardboe Coldstore is investing in extra capacity at its EU-approved complex in Arboe with the works to be completed by the end of July.

"The new facility will give us an additional five and a half thousand tonnes of storage capacity," confirmed Ardboe Coldstore Managing Director, Eugene Carson.

"This will provide us with a total of 20,000 tonnes of temperature controlled storage on site. We can also provide up to 5,000 tonnes of ambient storage capacity at our Magherafelt site.

"The current development programme also provides for a new and additional blast freezing system plus a state-of-the-art packing facility. Also included is an industry leading IT controlled stock traceability system. This investment, which is being funded entirely from our own resources, will allow us to expand the range of services on-offer to clients," he said.

Eugene, pictured here with Mary Kelly discussing the final plans, went on to point out that the development of the new facility will create, at least, 15 new jobs, bringing the total number of people working at Ardboe to 45.

The company, which was established in 2004 by Eugene Carson, provides a range of freezing, maturation, distribution and storage services to a large cross section of Ireland's blue chip food manufacturing operations.

He concluded: "These are exciting times for the local food industry. At Ardboe Coldstore we are investing in state of the art facilities which will allow customers not just to store product but also to add value in a meaningful way.

"We are fully accredited by the EU, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Rural Payments' Agency and, most crucially, the British Retail Consortium. Our sole aim is to provide the services our clients need to operate their businesses in the most efficient way possible."

(BMcC/GK)