Construction starts on Factory of the Future to reinvigorate Northern Ireland’s industrial potential from bridgewater state university bookstore Watch Video

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✓ Published: 11-Jun-2024

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Construction has started on a state-of-the-art Factory of the Future at Global Point in Newtownabbey led by Queen’s University Belfast, which is key to an exciting future for advanced manufacturing in Northern Ireland.<br/><br/>US Special Envoy to NI for Economic Affairs Joe Kennedy III joined Queen’s University vice-chancellor Professor Sir Ian Greer and Mayor of Antrim and Newtownabbey Councillor Neil Kelly on a site visit along with key representatives from industry, government and academia, who are driving forward the ambitious project.<br/><br/>They marked a major milestone for the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC) through a £100m investment, expected to create up to 1,500 jobs across Northern Ireland, contribute £1bn to the economy and train 300 apprentices by 2050.<br/><br/>The Factory of the Future is being delivered in partnership with industry, Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council and Ulster University as part of a wider £230m transformational programme of innovation led by Queen’s and supported by the UK Government and Northern Ireland Executive through Belfast Region City Deal. Almost £80m of funding for AMIC has come from the City Deal.<br/><br/>Due to open in 2026, the 10,000m² open access manufacturing and engineering innovation centre with capacity for 150 staff, is being built by Henry Brothers. It’s set to reinvigorate local industrial potential and address the future technology and skills challenges faced by the region’s manufacturing sector.