Seagate creates 35 jobs in multi-million Derry investment

Seagate say that in the very near future all books ever written could be stored on as few as 20 HAMR drives

Seagate technologies is to create 35 new jobs at its Springtown base in Londonderry.

It is part of a £34.7m investment by the hard drive manufacturer in a major research and development project.

First Minister Peter Robinson said it showed the company's "commitment" to the region.

Seagate employs over 1,300 people in Derry making it a major employer in the North West

"Tremendous"

Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, said it was a great day for the city.

"This is a tremendous day for Derry with Seagate investing £34.7million here at Springtown.

"Whether it is advances in cloud computing, big data or the next big thing in technology this site at Springtown will be an important element of Seagate's future.

"Locally, employing over 1,300 people Seagate is a major employer in the north west and their presence here continues to make a massive difference to people, families, businesses and the wider community."

Since opening in 1993, the hard drive manufacturer has become one of Derry's largest employers

'Big news'

Invest NI has offered £7.8m of assistance, part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

First Minister Peter Robinson, said it was big news for the Northern Ireland economy.

"Today's announcement is the largest research and development investment this year accounting for over 40% of Northern Ireland's target for 2014.

"It is the latest in a series of R&D investments over recent years that have enhanced the Springtown facility's strategic importance within the wider Seagate operation.

"When fully operational, this major project will provide almost 180 highly trained staff including 35 new high value positions with an average salary of £35,000 per annum."

Seagate is a global leader in data storage solutions, an important part of which is its facility in Springtown where the company develops and manufactures read-write heads for hard disk drives.

This manufacturing operation is recognised as the UK's most advanced nanotechnology manufacturing facility.

'Explosive increase'

David Mosley, Seagate's president of operations and technology, said an "explosive increase" in demand for storage from new technology including smartphones and cloud computing is driving the need to deliver greater storage capacity.

"This R&D project will see the Springtown R&D team, supported by Ansin at Queen's University Belfast, apply its expertise to the task of developing HAMR technology and help the company achieve competitive advantage."

Seagate say, that as an example in the very near future, conceivably all books ever written in history could be stored on as few as 20 HAMR drives.