Kane Engineering is creating 28 new jobs supported by Invest Northern Ireland as part of plans to drive sales across the Republic and Britain. The company, based in Newtownards, Co Down, plans to double its workforce over the next two years, recruiting additional production operators, engineers, electricians as well as a number of management roles. Kane Engineering designs and manufactures a wide range of bespoke low voltage switchgear distribution panels. These are used in large residential, commercial and industrial buildings for the control, switching and distribution of electrical power supplies. Damien Kane, business development director at Kane Engineering, explains that demand for the company’s products is driven primarily by construction activities across Britain and Ireland. With the construction sector returning to growth in both countries, Kane said "we are forecasting that there’ll be an increasing volume of work available to us moving forward. We want to position ourselves to take advantage of these opportunities and support from Invest NI is enabling us to quickly ramp up our manufacturing capabilities to cope with more orders. Recruitment for our 28 new staff is under way with five already in place”. Invest NI offered Kane Engineering an employment grant of £156,800 (about €225,000) to support the 28 new jobs. Grainne McVeigh, Invest NI’s director of electronics, said: “Kane Engineering has invested tremendous time and effort working with an Invest NI lean adviser to refine its processes which has resulted in sales growth and increased profitability. “With increasing opportunities across the UK’s construction market on the horizon, boosting the company’s workforce will help reinforce Kane Engineering’s competitive position to attract new customers. With an average salary of £18,200 (equivalent to about €26,000) the 28 new jobs to be created will offer valuable employment opportunities for skilled workers in Newtownards and the wider Co Down area.”