Belfast-based Crane Stockham Valve's announcment of an investment of £600,000 in an extensive programme of staff training and development has been given a warm welcome by a local politican.

East Belfast MLA Robin Newton, (pictured) who is a member of the Assembly's Enterprise, Trade and Investment Committee, has welcomed the move, which has been supported by Invest Northern Ireland.

"This is very good news at a time when confidence in the UK economy is not high and the company's management are to be congratulated for their business vision and bucking the current economic trend.

"I hope this investment will encourage other firms considering business ventures or expansion.

"The firm's past successes are a tribute to the current highly skilled and motivated employees and they deserve to be applauded for their successful track record," he commented.

Crane Stockham Valve specialises in the manufacture of valves for the gas, water and industrial processing industries.

Invest NI's Managing Director of Innovation and Capability Development, Tracy Meharg, also welcomed the news: "This investment is assisting Crane Stockham Valve to improve its competitiveness and profitability, add value to its business and increase export sales by developing the skills levels of its staff even more.

"The capability being developed as part of this initiative is also helping to promote an ethos of continuous improvement throughout the company, contributing to cost economies and maintaining high quality standards."

John Green, General Manager of Crane Stockham Valve in Belfast, said: "Our highly skilled workforce is key to the success of Crane Stockham Valve, and this project is raising its levels of expertise even more, focusing on skills in the areas of IT, design, equipment maintenance, customer support and health and safety.

"We are also training employees in lean manufacturing techniques to help make our operation even more efficient and reduce lead times.

"Another element of this initiative focuses on leadership and is contributing to an even stronger management and supervisory team.

"Part of the customer support and IT training will assist staff with using a new customer relationship management system that we plan to introduce in the near future. Effective customer relationship management will help us maintain our existing client base and continue to seek new customers outside Northern Ireland.

"The design training aims to increase the rate of new product development, helping Crane Stockham Valve to provide innovative solutions to its customers, maintain its position as a market leader and realise its full potential in the long term."

Crane Stockham Valve's portfolio of clients includes worldwide customers from Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North America.

The training project is part funded by the European Union's European Regional Development Fund.

(PR/JM)(BMcC)