Davison Canners creates 31 new jobs in £6m investment at new Portadown facility

Davison Canners, which has has invested in a new manufacturing facility outside Portadown, expects to see its turnover double by 2027.

The investment in the new highly-automated facility has enabled the company to secure new business producing ‘ready to eat’ desserts, such as individual cheesecakes, premium trifles and new innovative high-protein desserts for retail customers in Ireland and Great Britain.

During a visit to Davison Canners, Kieran Donoghue, CEO of Invest Northern Ireland, said: “Providing good jobs, promoting regional balance and driving up productivity are all priorities outlined in the Minister’s Economic Vision last month. This investment ticks all three of these boxes.

"This state-of-the-art manufacturing facility will drive up productivity by improving efficiencies, reducing the company’s carbon footprint and ultimately supporting Davison Canners in its ambition to be more competitive and well-placed to secure new deals with multiple retailers.

"The 31 new jobs that will be created in Armagh will deliver additional benefits for our economy, with almost £900,000 in salaries annually.”

The company, which is now in its second generation, started out as a producer of fruit compotes and jams before expanding into its ‘hot eat’ dessert puddings supplying customers in Ireland and GB.

Alan Davison, managing director, Davison Canners, said: “Our commitment to producing best-in-class desserts and to nurturing relationships with our core customers has rewarded us with sustained growth.

"We are continually reviewing our business model, developing new innovative products and always looking for ways to expand into new areas in response to customer demands. We are excited to take this next step in the company’s strategic growth and develop a new range of ‘cold eat’ desserts, that opens up significant new opportunities for us.”

Kieran Donoghue, Invest NI’s CEO, added: “For 15 years Invest NI has worked with the company to support its sustained and profitable growth. This has included providing support for the new equipment it needed when it began production of its ‘Simply Puddings’ range, which enabled the company to increase productivity and improve its efficiencies.

"We have also provided marketing development support that helped secure additional external sales, which are essential for lifting the Northern Ireland economy to the next level.”