Prime Minister in surprise Ards visit

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During his first visit to Northern Ireland as Prime Minister last Thursday, David Cameron chose to visit Mash Direct in Comber, after first meeting with local politicians at Stormont.

With less than 24 hours notice that the Prime Minister would be visiting their Ballyrainey Road manufacturing plant, there was much excitement and last minute preparation prior to his arrival at Mash Direct.

First to arrive was Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster, followed by a cavalcade of cars carrying the PM and his newly appointed Northern Ireland Secretary of State Owen Paterson.

The Prime Minister, Secretary of State and Minister Foster were taken on a tour of the factory and Mash Direct bus.

Mr Cameron's visit to a firm in the Ards has been a great endorsement of Mash Direct's success and his commitment to prioritise and grow the private sector.

Mash Direct was the brainchild of Martin and Tracy Hamilton and their good friend and neighbour Tony Reid. It had been Martin's dream to set up a production facility on his own farm to produce champ.

The directors recalled: "After much discussion, determination and hard work, one year later that dream became a reality and Mash Direct Ltd had been formed."

Mash Direct has grown from a family farm to producing an innovative range of quick serve mashed potato, vegetable and cabbage products which are exported to supermarkets throughout the UK, Europe and more recently to America.

The firm's credit controller, Ann McDonald from Bangor, was excited to meet Mr Cameron. She has been with the company for over five years and said: "I started here when there were just a few customers and it is great to see how it has grown."

Arlene Foster, as she waited to speak to the Prime Minister, told the Chronicle: "There has been a lot of talk about the economy in Northern Ireland and I believe David Cameron made some comments about not singling Northern Ireland out and I am obviously welcoming that.

"We know it will be a difficult time for the public sector, because we have a disproportionately high public sector and although we want to grow the private sector we must recognise it can't be severely cut, or it will suffer because of that."

Mash Direct employs 80 people and referring to how his business has bucked the trend, Martin Hamilton stated: "It is very difficult times in banking and it has been difficult for us as well in business. It is very critical in terms of growing the business very carefully.

"We are providing products to meet the market as it stands. We are very competitive in the UK and Ireland and even more competitive with the dollar strong up against the pound, which has made us competitive in the market out there.

"I am a farmer, my history is farming. We went through 20 years of torture in farming where margins were very weak."

Read the full report in this week's Chronicle.