Northern Ireland has a proud manufacturing history and, through clever initiatives and technological innovation, is set for a bright future ahead.
Northern Ireland has a rich manufacturing history, particularly in the quarrying and aggregates sectors.
That long history is littered with stories of how family businesses saw an opportunity and took it with both hands on their way to establishing a business that serves a global market today.
Take Rapid International, which started as Craigavon Engineering in a small garage in 1969. Craigavon Engineering co-founders Jim Lappin and Bertie Pickering specialised in agricultural equipment before receiving a request for a concrete batching plant.
The rest, as they say, is history: Rapid International, as it’s now known, has been exporting its mobile concrete batching plants worldwide for more than 40 years, with over 1000 installations.
“It started from very humble beginnings. Like a lot of businesses in Northern Ireland, those two gentlemen can trace their roots back to John Finlay; they all worked at an engineering firm 60-plus years ago now, and then branched off to start their own company,” Rapid International managing director John Pickering said.
“Northern Ireland was a very different place all those years ago.
“It took a lot of courage for those two men to start their own business and make it on their own.
“We’re extremely proud of our heritage and what the business has become.
“We have a mobile product range that we export worldwide, including to the US, Australia, the Middle East, and a growing customer base in Central Europe.”
Or take the story of Smiley Monroe. The company’s origins began in a barn in Northern Ireland in 1979, when Mark Smiley and Vaughan Monroe supplied conveyor belting and services to local quarries.
By 1986, the company was supplying quarries in Great Britain, and by 2026, it was exporting to more than 60 countries.
These are the stories that make up Northern Ireland’s rich manufacturing history.
“Northern Ireland is where my dad started Smiley Monroe in 1979, together with the support of my mum, and I grew up right next to the business in Lisburn.
“I have so many great childhood memories from that time and the energy and craic that I had in the yard with those first team members,” Smiley Monroe chief executive officer Chris Monroe said.
“I also think about the sacrifices and determination of my parents to grow a business and a family simultaneously.
“It therefore makes me proud of our home and business in Northern Ireland, how far it has come, and I consider it a privilege and responsibility to continue to provide opportunities to the local community and to keep growing at home, but now with a very global reach.”
Then there’s the story of EDGE Innovate, established during the 2007 downturn. The screening and material handling equipment manufacturer has been on a sharp trajectory ever since, with 100 per cent of its products exported, with a strong research and development focus and an expansive dealer network.
“Being from Northern Ireland is hugely important for us, and it is a badge of honour for us. Our customers know the pedigree of manufacturing from this part of the world and the level of quality we produce,” EDGE Innovate managing director Darragh Cullen said.
“It is a heritage that the people here want to continue to invest in; there’s a sense that we [Northern Ireland] are world-leading in this particular market segment.”
These companies, and many others, have become part of Northern Ireland’s rich fabric, starting small and then becoming competitive players on a global stage.
Their contributions to manufacturing have also supported the nation’s prosperity.
Data from MEGA that manufacturing represents 11 per cent of Northern Ireland’s total employment. Manufacturing accounts for approximately 15 per cent of Northern Ireland’s gross domestic product.
Mid Ulster’s manufacturing accounts around 12 per cent of the country’s total exports, with material processing equipment accounting for 20 per cent of all regional manufacturing employment. Cullen shared the often-quoted statistic that 40 per cent of mobile crushing and screening equipment is manufactured in County Tyrone which further underlines the sector’s importance to manufacturing. Now, the challenge for the historically dominant manufacturing powerhouse is to remain competitive as challengers emerge. Manufacturing is now prevalent in other countries, including China, Turkey and Italy. It presents a new wave of challenges that Northern Ireland businesses must face to remain competitive.
There is not just one way to remain competitive in a global market. For example, as Smiley Monroe’s customer base, which includes Northern Ireland manufacturers such as Terex, McCloskey, Sandvik and CDE, has expanded globally, so too have the conveyor belt specialists to match the growing demand for its products.
In 2012, it opened a manufacturing base in Hosur, India, to complement its Northern Ireland facility before expanding its manufacturing network to include Kentucky, USA, and, more recently, Derbyshire, England.
Northern Ireland manufacturers are also broadening their horizons beyond traditional strongholds in quarrying and aggregates and diversifying into new revenue streams to solidify their manufacturing future.
For Smiley Monroe, this has included working closely with customers to develop solutions for emerging aggregates markets such as recycled aggregates.
Through consultation with its customer base, the conveyor belt manufacturer is evolving its products to meet new industry demands.
“We’re seeing a clear shift in the quarrying and aggregates sector towards sustainability, circular construction, and higher-performance materials,” Monroe said.
“Customers are placing greater emphasis on the full lifecycle impact of the products they use, ensuring materials are responsibly sourced and deliver long-term value.
“At the same time, the industry is rapidly adopting recycled aggregates, such as crushed concrete and secondary materials, as part of a broader circular construction model.
“Technologies enabling this transition, including magnet-equipped conveyor systems and eddy current separators used in processing incinerator bottom ash, are critical in recovering metals and producing usable recycled aggregates for concrete and road construction.
“Our focus remains on delivering belts that maximise lifespan and performance, helping customers reduce waste, lower total cost of ownership, and support more sustainable operations.”
For manufacturers like Rapid International, the company has broadened from mobile concrete batch plants into environmental sectors such as soil mixing and soil recycling.
This environmental focus will be on display at Hillhead 2026 when the company will launch a product specifically designed for these sectors.
“In terms of being competitive, we differentiate ourselves through quality and the actual efficiency of the products themselves,” Pickering said.
“We’re really pushing into the environmental sector now, and that’s something we want to keep pushing and continually developing.”
EDGE Innovate has taken a progressive approach to developing its product range with the aim of introducing two to three new products to its range every year, with input from its customer base that encompasses 60 markets.
One example of this approach will become apparent when EDGE Innovate showcases its ScreenPro Scalping range, including the ScreenPro S16, at Hillhead 2026 as part of the range’s first-ever showing in the UK.
“That’s showing where we’re going internally with our product development in the aggregates sector,” EDGE Innovate marketing manager Adrian Donnelly said.
“We’re moving from being able to just transfer material to helping customers process their materials and this is the start of that journey.”
For many manufacturers, adapting to the increasing technological capabilities of their equipment has been important, with Smiley Monroe, Rapid International and EDGE Innovate no exception.
At Smiley Monroe, artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics are helping the company refine its operations for efficiency and to maintain a competitive edge within the industry.
“Technology is playing an increasingly important role in our business, and we’re genuinely excited about the opportunities it brings. Innovations like AI, and data analytics are helping us better understand our operations, improve efficiency, and make more informed decisions in real time,” Monroe said.
“These tools give our people better insights, reduce manual or repetitive tasks, and enhance safety and reliability across our operations. Ultimately, it allows our skilled workforce to focus on higher-value work where their experience and judgement make the biggest impact.”
Another clear example is EDGE Innovate’s recent investment in a £1 million robotic welder to support its manufacturing operations. It comes as manufacturers in Northern Ireland, including EDGE Innovate, struggle to find skilled workers.
“The robotic welder is a must because there’s a lack of available welders, so we’ve streamlined the process so we can use automation and robotics in all processes. The robotic welder is only the first stage of automating our production,” Cullen said.
The workforce shortage in Northern Ireland’s manufacturing sector is a key talking point among industry professionals.
The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee’s report on economic growth in Northern Ireland, released in March 2026, noted that the country faces a shortage of skilled labour, especially in STEM and vocational fields, with the need for technologically adept workers becoming increasingly prominent.
Manufacturing and Engineering Growth and Advancement (MEGA) network managing director Barry Taylor knows the country’s manufacturing sector inside and out.
He’s worked in the sector in various capacities for 36 years and is passionate about its future.
For the past year, he has worked at MEGA, which aims to engage schools with the manufacturing industry as a potential career pathway.
He’s seen first-hand the impact of the labour shortfall.
“It’s very difficult, for example, to get a good maintenance engineer right now, who is multi-skilled across the different technologies,” he said.
“In my mind, we need to push apprenticeships and degree apprenticeships as much as we push graduates.
“Manufacturing can be regarded as just a factory job, but in reality, it’s so much more than that; it can be a one-stop shop for your entire career where you can travel the world and gain really valuable knowledge.”
The labour shortage is being felt heavily at the manufacturing level as companies, like Rapid International, try to find the next generation of workers to replace their retiring workforce.
“Getting people at all is probably our biggest challenge right now, and the ability to recruit people is becoming harder and harder,” Pickering said.
“I think education plays a huge role in that. If you look at MEGA, I think initiatives like that are fantastic, and in terms of our recruitment, we’re looking heavily at the high-level apprenticeship scheme [in Northern Ireland].”
While the outside perspective might see manufacturing as “just factory jobs”, MEGA is working with the industry to show that it is a strong pathway with many opportunities, from sales to engineering to electronics and beyond.
MEGA is undertaking a feasibility study to see whether a “super cluster” approach, as seen in Scandinavia, would work within its manufacturing sector.
The model, in effect, works by having competitors within the sector come together to solve issues that affect the entire sector, such as the labour shortage, while remaining competitive in the marketplace.
“Rather than everyone fighting for the same funding, we’re trialling a collaborative approach through this cluster [model] so we can support and strengthen the Northern Ireland economy,” Taylor said.
“It’s about coming together to address problems affecting the entire industry.”
In response to the need for apprentices, MEGA is launching a manufacturing apprenticeship programme with South West College in September 2026, aiming to produce work-ready graduates who can hit the ground running in the workforce. The programme will cover the basics through to advanced manufacturing concepts.
“Through this initiative, we will be supplying the industry with ready-made, valuable workers with real knowledge,” Taylor said.
“Aside from the basics like science and maths, we’re hoping this generation will have a digital awareness and an awareness of automation options, as well as a willingness to gain a deeper understanding of them.
“This is going to be important as this next generation is going to be fundamental to the industry’s growth.
“Especially when the industry is talking about robotics and automation, it doesn’t yet have that skill set. So, this next generation is going to come in and close that loop.”
Cullen said it was important to promote the variety of opportunities within the sector.
“There’s plenty of opportunity for people who want to get involved in manufacturing. Universities are educating people for jobs that won’t exist [due to AI],” he said.
“It is time to refocus on the jobs that AI isn’t going to replace, physical jobs like manufacturing.”
Manufacturers are already clearly integrating these aspects into their operations, with uptake only set to increase in future years.
“AI optimisation and autonomous equipment are going to have a big impact [in the future], particularly through predictive maintenance, computer vision and quality control,” Monroe said.
“The challenging and often hazardous quarry environment can benefit from technologies that help predict equipment issues or damages before they become a problem, reducing both downtime and the potential for on-site accidents.
“It’s important to note, though, that these trends won’t remove the need for skilled workers — they’ll change the nature of roles, with more emphasis on monitoring systems, maintaining equipment, and making informed decisions using data. The sector will benefit most when technology and human expertise work together.”
Taylor said improving the manufacturing workforce will further enhance the sector’s future viability, especially as technology and automation are increasingly important.
“It is absolutely amazing what they’re doing in terms of robotics and automation,” he said.
“If we can help [manufacturers] maximise what they’re already doing, it will create new jobs and help build the Northern Ireland economy.” AB
