Insider Media have published their annual Northern Ireland Manufacturing 100 highlighting the largest and most economically significant manufacturing firms across Northern Ireland, ranked by turnover. It showcases a brand cross-section of activity from high tech engineering and aerospace supply chain businesses to food producers and construction materials manufacturers. The list demonstrates both the scale of the manufacturing sector in the region, but also its diversity.
In his commentary, Stephen Kelly, Manufacturing NI CEO, emphasises that Northern Ireland’s manufacturing sector isn’t just large, it’s innovate, globally competitve & deeply rooted in problem solving.
Northern Ireland has an extraordinary innovation heritage. Whether it’s Harry Ferguson’s three-point linkage which transformed agriculture, John Boyd Dunlop’s pneumatic tyre, the aircraft ejector seat by James Martin which has saved thousands of lives, or Frank Pantridge’s portable defibrillator — for generations, Ulster men and women have proven that there is problem solving in our DNA. But this is not just a glorious past; today our manufacturers continue to solve global challenges and compete successfully on the world stage.
With over 100,000 people employed in the sector, and with exports continuing to grow to the EU and an expanding offering, it shows the vibrancy of the sector, despite the continuingly challenging conditions that firms operate in here.
Insider Media are the hosts of the Made in NI Awards, which is a key part of the Manufacturing Month Programme.
Now in its 11th year, the event features new and enhanced categories that reflect the sector’s innovation, growth and evolving impact on the regional economy.
For the first time, the awards will be hosted as a gala black-tie evening on Wednesday 20th May 2026 at the Titanic Museum, Belfast. Category winners will also go on to compete on the national stage at the Insider Made in the UK Awards.