‘The renewed commitment to Campsie is going to have a global impact’

The expansion was announced on Thursday at the former Fruit of the Loom base, which has recently been taken over by Veritiv’s E&I Engineering. The highly-skilled jobs cover a range of disciplines in the company and Managing Director of E&I, Philip O’Doherty, says they are especially keen to employ more women to create a ‘diverse and inclusive’ workspace.

Philip continued: “This is the second anniversary of E&I’s acquisition with Veritiv, and the CEO Giordano Albertazzi is so passionate about this. Today, projects that are internationally mobile like this are about getting people and retaining people, and being able to train them to do these jobs. We have a lot of success stories for people who come in with virtually no skills. It's been successful, and we're making a big effort with young female staff coming in as well. I think some of the work is quite delicate type work on the wiring side, and the female staff seem to be better adapted to that than some of the male staff.

"The recruitment is ongoing and there's going to be a lot more roles to fill. Training is supported by the Department of the Economy's Assured Skills Academies. We're starting some new recruitment for some training schemes, which are going to start in January or February next year. They will be focused on mechanical and electrical engineering skills.

"Invest NI support was crucial because this project was potentially mobile and we look forward to continuing the close working relationship we have with Invest NI for future projects, which Veritiv are continually assessing, particularly for locations to invest the money. We have an emphasis on upskilling the workforce, as well as training new employees."

Mel Chittock, Interim CEO of Invest NI said: “This is fantastic news today. We're really proud of this announcement, the investment by Vertiv to create 184 jobs in this facility, which was an old Fruit of the Loom factory being brought back to life, but more importantly, this is an investment in a workforce that is going to serve as the global market in engineering. That is going to create more opportunities, not just for the company, but also for the local region.”

Giordano Albertazzi, CEO of Vertiv said: "Investing in a location is also a testament, not only to the potential of a location, but also to the good work, commitment, focus and passion that that location has demonstrated over time.

"Veritiv is a global leader in critical digital infrastructure. What we do is to create the infrastructure for the data centre industry, for the telecom industry and a lot of commercial and industrial critical applications. Basically, we enable the world to digitize, to evolve, to improve from a technology standpoint. The market is particularly interesting and favourable these days. That's one of the reasons why we are expanding here; more capacity because we have more demand. Especially the data centre industry is accelerating because there is a wave of investment following the acceleration of artificial intelligence across the world. That infrastructure is being built and is being built for the years to come. The products that we make here are absolutely critical, central to this evolution.

"The renewed commitment to Campsie is going to have a global impact. In fact, what we build here is certainly going to serve the UK but also Europe, Middle East and Africa and the world. This is commitment to innovation. An investment is also a commitment not only in square feet of manufacturing area, it's a commitment to the people, to the ideas, to the future, to our customers, to the future of Vertiv and of the community. We are very proud of it as we build a more advanced world together.”

Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District, Councillor Patricia Logue said: “This is a really good news story for the city and district and the whole Northwest. I do think that the company is committed to this area and this is just the beginning of what what can be in this site. There's a lot of good skills out there and we have to invest in our infrastructure to enable companies to have faith in this area. Happily, this company have have seen that we have the skills here to do it. There's a lot more to do but this is the first step in the right direction.”

Councillor Sandra Duffy said: “Confirmation that around 200 new jobs will be created at Vertiv’s factory in Campsie is exciting news for the city.

“This demonstrates the company’s commitment to delivering significant investment in the north west and expanding its already hugely successful business.

“Vertiv and E&I have been a major employer for people in the city for years at its Burnfoot and Campsie bases, and I want to commend Philip O’Doherty and the company for their ongoing work to create jobs in this city and region.”

“We need the Assembly restored now to seize the economic opportunities available to create good jobs, strengthen our economy and help more businesses to expand.”

Foyle MLA Colum Eastwood said: “This announcement by Vertiv of almost 200 new jobs for Derry is hugely welcome and creates a range of opportunities for people in our city to obtain skilled and well-paid work in a growing company. I was delighted to be in attendance at the announcement today and to discuss the company’s plans for the future and their place in our city.

“I’d like to pay tribute to the work of Phillip O’Doherty who through his stewardship of E&I Engineering and now with Vertiv has created so much opportunity in our city and region. His entrepreneurship has brought significant investment to Derry and his continued commitment to the area is driving positive change for people here.

“I also recognise the important role played by Invest NI in supporting the creation of these jobs. The SDLP has long been calling for the company to drive investment towards the most deprived parts of the North and to implement sub-regional targets to ensure that every area receives its share of funding. I hope that we will continue to see them work positively with companies in the North West following the recent overhaul of the organisation.

“This latest positive jobs announcement for our city shows that we are developing a reputation as a place of significant opportunity, where companies will be warmly welcomed and have access to a skilled and committed workforce. I will continue to do everything I can to work with companies to attract the investment that is so important to improving our local economy and addressing the long-term issues that exist here.”

For more information about Vertiv and recruitment in Derry visit Vertiv.com.