MADE IN NI
THE ROLE OF NORTHERN IRELAND’S CONSTRUCTION MATERIALS INDUSTRY AS A STRATEGIC ECONOMIC DRIVER WITH DEEP SOCIAL VALUE IS OUTLINED BY MINERAL PRODUCTS ASSOCIATION NI REGIONAL DIRECTOR GORDON BEST… Made in Northern Ireland
Gordon Best, Mineral Products Association NI Regional Director.
Northern Ireland’s construction materials manufacturers play a quiet but powerful role in the economic life of the region. Our local quarry and mineral products industry is indigenous and has been here for decades. NI has one of the richest diversities of geology anywhere in Europe and this fact is clear: you can only extract it where nature has placed it. While much attention is often given to the large infrastructure schemes, commercial developments and housing programmes our industry supplies, the strength of this construction materials sector lies equally in its ability to export high-quality products across the UK and Ireland. From precast concrete used in hospitals and schools to premium aggregates and paving products shipped to major infrastructure schemes across GB, NI’s construction materials industry is a key strategic contributor to regional prosperity. This sector generates significant economic value, supports thousands of high-quality jobs, underpins rural communities and sustains a deeply-rooted industrial heritage. Its contribution reaches far beyond factory gates. It enables economic mobility, nurtures engineering talent and provides
the raw materials that allow modern society to function. The sector’s economic and social value includes: 1. SERVING AS A CORE PILLAR OF THE NI ECONOMY One of the region’s fundamental industrial pillars, the sector includes quarries, cement plants, precast factories, asphalt producers, ready-mix suppliers, block manufacturers, paving production facilities and mineral processors. MPANI estimates the turnover of NI suppliers to be over £1bn from direct sales and the wide network of businesses it supports including building contractors, transport companies, engineering firms, equipment suppliers, laboratories, maintenance specialists and professional services. A pound spent in the construction materials sector generates multiple pounds in wider economic activity. Because these products are produced locally, the economic multiplier remains within the region rather than leaking out to global suppliers. Northern Ireland also punches far above its weight in supplying the GB construction market. This export
orientation brings money into Northern Ireland, rather than circulating the same local expenditure. It also diversifies market risk; even when the Northern Ireland construction market dips, exports to GB help stabilise employment and investment at home. 2. SUSTAINING EMPLOYMENT ACROSS RURAL AND REGIONAL COMMUNITIES Quarries, precast factories and mineral processing facilities are often located in areas where alternative forms of industry are limited. These businesses provide long-term, well-paid and skilled employment - machine operators, electrical and mechanical engineers, quality technicians, transport planners, geologists, environmental specialists and production managers. Many companies have employees who have stayed for decades, building careers and raising families on stable incomes. In rural areas from Co Fermanagh to the Sperrins, South Down to the Antrim Coast, construction materials companies often serve as anchor employers. Their presence keeps local shops and services viable, sustains school enrolment, provides
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