ABUJA: Co Down engineering design company Northern Innovation has completed its first export deal worth £200,000 supplying its unique borewell water extraction system to the Nigerian Bottling Company based in Ikeja, Lagos in western Nigeria.
Invest Northern Ireland offered Northern Innovation £43,980, part funded by the European Regional Development Fund, to help the company develop this technology which was specifically designed to be sold outside Northern Ireland.
Norman Ferguson, Managing Director of Northern Innovation, said: “A research and development grant from Invest NI enabled us to develop our unique borewell control system which allows for sustainable abstraction of ground water.
“The system maximises the volume of water which can be extracted from a borewell but also protects the borewell pump from which water is drawn.
“It also has a remote support facility which allows our engineers to monitor and control borewell installations without having to be on site or even in the country.”
“This experience has reinforced the culture of research and development within the organisation and we are confident that our success in Nigeria will help leverage future opportunities for our new borewell kits across Great Britain, Europe and beyond.”
The Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) is undergoing a major expansion and demand for water used in the soft drinks manufacturing process has increased. Moneyreagh company Northern Innovation, through a long standing relationship with the Coca Cola plant at Knockmore Hill, Lisburn, were able to secure the contract to design and supply two borewell kits for the NBC factory in Ikeja.
Northern Innovation was set up in 2006 to provide process engineering consultancy to many local manufacturing and food companies. The company boasts Coca-Cola Hellenic, Moy Park and Bombardier among its customers.
Carol Keery, Invest NI’s Director of research and development, said: “Northern Innovation identified that product innovation and the supply of packaged solutions for extraction of ground water was a key driver for future growth of the business.
“This investment in research and development has enabled the company to develop a successful and innovative product offering which will give Northern Innovations a competitive edge within the specialised engineering sector. I would encourage more business like this to explore how research and development could boost their businesses performance.”
Northern Innovation has previously installed borewell systems for the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, the Hastings Hotel Group, Moy Park, Queens University and various other large water users in Northern Ireland.
Borewell systems provide cost savings over the use of mains water and for essential water users, allow resilience in times of mains water supply difficulties. With many companies focussing on utility costs, the use of water from their own private borewells can provide substantial savings and very attractive capital investment payback times.
