Hughes Engineering Works, the structural steel fabricator based just outside Carrickmore, Co Tyrone, is stepping up its push into new export markets after securing financial support from Invest NI.
The company, which fabricates and erects structural steel for industrial, commercial and retail buildings across Ireland and the UK, has built its reputation on projects ranging from schools and fire stations to forecourts and agricultural units. Its portfolio includes work for Terex in Omagh and Erne Integrated College, among others.
The new Invest NI funding will go toward smarter production processes, specifically new software and improved workflow management designed to cut waste, sharpen efficiency and support more sustainable manufacturing on the shop floor.
That operational upgrade is intended to underpin the company’s next move: growing sales and marketing activity across the Republic of Ireland, Great Britain and Sweden. Six new jobs are expected to be created as part of the expansion.
For a business that’s spent years building its name on steel fabrication and erection close to home, the shift toward Nordic and GB markets marks a real step change, and one that depends on tightening up production first. Investing in workflow software before chasing new markets is a sound sequence: it means the capacity is there to back up the sales pitch.