Newtownabbey is well placed in the heart of Northern Ireland's business belt which allows us to enjoy fast access to Northern Ireland's two main airports and ports by means of our first class road and rail infrastructure.

This has made the Borough a prime business location with large international manufacturing companies sitting comfortably alongside small and medium sized businesses.

We also boast a strong Service sector and an expanding retail base. Newtownabbey has a current unemployment rate of 4.7%, below the Northern Ireland average of 5.7%. The current economic activity rate (those of working age who are economically active) is 76.9%.

Telecoms and engineering firms characterise the area's industry with many products exported worldwide. Based on this strong platform, Newtownabbey has developed as a key ICT design and manufacturing location. This has gone hand in hand with the extremely high standard and quality of the workforce within Newtownabbey produced by the locally based East Antrim Institute of Further and Higher Education EAIFHE) and the University of Ulster at Jordanstown (UUJ).

The high standard of education and graduates within the workforce in Newtownabbey is illustrated by the business make up of the Borough.

The University of Ulster (the largest in Ireland) has a total student population of around 14,000 students and its Jordanstown campus (UUJ) boasts a Centre of Excellence in Engineering. Many companies in the area have strong links with the University, attracted by its Science and Technology Incubation Unit for graduate and postgraduate study. Complementing its teaching across eight facilities, UUJ is active in promoting links with industry and in developing the local scientific and technological base, noticeably in ICT.

There are a substantial number of Multinational companies that have already invested heavily in the area. Some of these include FG Wilson (part of the US Caterpillar Group), Nortel's European R&D Headquarters, Bombardier Shorts, Montracon (Germany) and Schlumberger (USA), (Japan).

In total, Invest Northern Ireland (INI) has attracted 36 major investors to the area, employing a total of 4,583 people. Total investment in the area in the last five years was $201m (£134m) of which $38.9m (£25.9m) was government assisted.

Invest Northern Ireland is the agency in Northern Ireland with responsibility for attracting inward investment. They currently have approximately 213 acres available for leasing in Newtownabbey. A recent substantial development has been the INI backed Global Point International Business Park. This is a 150-acre site, which is ready for client development. It is a fully serviced site strategically located approximately 8 miles north of Belfast in close proximity to the M2 Motorway.