A COMPANY which is a household name in the US is to base an IToffice in Belfast and create 50 jobs over the next two years.
CVS Caremark, a Fortune 50 firm with approximately 200,000employees and 7,300 outlets across America, is the largest pharmacyhealthcare provider in the US and its planned information systemsdevelopment centre will be the company's first foray intointernational territory.
Invest Northern Ireland has offered Pounds 300,000 of support,while a further Pounds 200,000 of support has been offered under theDepartment for Employment and Learning's Assured Skills Programme.
The new jobs will contribute Pounds 1.5m to the economy annuallyand hiring is due to start within weeks.
Stephen Wrenn, senior vice- president of IT services of CVSCaremark Corporation, said that he has worked in Northern Irelandwith several different companies in his career and said that he has'always been amazed' at the quality of the workforce here and saidthat in terms of future expansion, 'the sky's the limit'.
'The IT talent in Northern Ireland has always been phenomenal. Icannot say enough about the university system here, and how theuniversities have always been so willing to tailor their curriculumsto what international investors are looking for,' he said.
'I have always been amazed at the quality, the discipline andlevel of commitment of the workforce and the friendliness of thebusiness community.
'We looked at lots of different regions but chose NorthernIreland for those reasons and also the security of the data systemsand legal system here which will allow us to protect the data andapplications that we are hoping to develop here in Northern Ireland.
'People do want to put numbers on everything but in terms ofexpansion I will say that if this works out there could be nolimitations to what we could do here.'
Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said that the new office, thelocation of which has not been confirmed, will play a 'small butstrategic role' in the overall corporation.
She added that more and more investors are recognising thatNorthern Ireland is 'big enough to do business, but small enough tocare' adding that 80% of investors here end up re-investing.
'It's been said that companies come here for the cost and stayhere for the people,' she said.
'A lot of people here do not realise how central CVS is toeveryday life right across the US -- they are everywhere.
'Invest NI has been negotiating with the firm since October andStephen has remarked upon how quickly and easily everything has goneand the flexibility we can offer to international investors.'
Pounds 300,000
The amount of funding support given to the project by Invest NI
