A Craigavon based firm has announced it has completed building its 400,000th Yale forklift truck.

Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister, Jonathan Bell, congratulated the the Hyster-Yale plant and said for many years it has been a "world leading" brand.

Minister Bell said: "To be here to see the 400,000th forklift truck roll off the production line at Craigavon is a proud moment for everyone here and represents almost 35 years of continuous production from this very factory.

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"Hyster-Yale is a company which has invested and reinvested in Northern Ireland and we have enjoyed a very rewarding relationship which has resulted in real benefits for the local economy.

"We often talk about world class manufacturing but here we can see it clearly and, like all world class manufacturing centres, it never stops making improvements in everything it does. We recognise the importance of manufacturing in Northern Ireland, which is why Invest NI has, over the years, provided support towards re-equipping aspects of production and in making critical process improvements. This has enabled the Craigavon plant to be more versatile and complex in its manufacturing and thereby safeguard aspects of production here in Northern Ireland."

(CD/LM)