Magherafelt business Bloc will create 50 jobs with the launch of a tech and design spin-out company, Bloc Labs.
Derry-based blinds company Bloc is investing £600,000 in the launch of a new spin-out company, which will facilitate the creation of up to 50 new jobs in the coming months.
The new spin-out, Bloc Labs, will design, test and develop consumer technology products and experiences for global markets.
In its initial phase of expansion, 10 jobs will be created, with a further 40 jobs to be made available within the next 12 to 18 months, focusing on concept, design and product development.
Dr Rachel Gawley will head up the team of researchers, designers and technologists at Bloc Labs.
“Bloc Labs is a unique workspace offering incredible scope and opportunity to individuals who will be empowered to do what they do best by bringing amazing ideas to life,” said Gawley, who will be site lead and chief technologist.
“Seeing possibility in the world is the fuel behind our engineering creativity at Bloc. As an agile company our focus is on using our ingenuity to overcome challenges, innovate solutions and develop the products and technologies which enhance lives.”
Bloc’s managing director, Cormac Diamond, added that the expansion is another stage in the design and manufacturing company’s “very exciting journey” over the past 12 years. It already employs more than 200 people in Northern Ireland and at its division in the Netherlands.
The company has developed patented Bloc Out blind technology and a safety wand for blinds, which it exports to key markets including the US and Canada.
“We will continue to push the boundaries by creating new opportunities which will help us to scale our business on the global platform,” Diamond said. “Bloc Labs is just one more way in which we’ve turned our engineering and design experience into a meaningful, positive outcome, creating more jobs and opportunity for growth.”
More information about jobs at Bloc can be found on its website.
