NI manufacturing company to open US factory

Trading as APC (American Polycarbonate Company), the facility is being established as a joint venture with Brett Martin's leading US distribution customer, Amerilux International

Brett Martin, one of Northern Ireland's largest manufacturing firms, is to open a factory in the United States.

The Mallusk-based company makes plastic products like pipes and roofing panels for the construction industry.

The new factory in Wisconsin is a joint venture with Amerilux International which is currently Brett Martin's main US distributor.

Brett Martin group director, Paul Martin, said the US factory had been planned well before President Trump's latest round of tariffs.

"While tariffs are relevant for any exporter, our motivation was above all driven by long-term market growth potential, the strength of our partnership with Amerilux, and the opportunities we see in North America," he added.

Paul Martin, left, Brett Martin Group Director, and William Martin, right, Brett Martin Group Director, holding an example of the kind of product that will be manufactured at the new site in Wisconsin

Brett Martin employs about 1,000 people, mainly in Northern Ireland.

The US plant is not expected to impact employment at its existing facilities.

In 2023 the company made a group pre-tax profit of £6.4m on a turnover of £210m.

The firm's roofing division has been a supplier to major stadium projects including the extension of Liverpool's Anfield ground.

It becomes one of a small number of Northern Ireland companies with manufacturing operations in the US.

Craigavon pharmaceutical firm Almac has laboratories in North Carolina and Pennsylvania while Magherafelt-based Bloc Blinds opened a factory in Texas last year.