Belfast Telegraph, 2nd September 2014
The Deluxe Group works in the hospitality, leisure, commercial and luxury residential sectors, and has carried out work including Disneyland Paris, and One Tower Bridge in London.
It has also carried out work at Queen’s David Kerr Building in Stranmillis, and fitted out the bar of the Fitzwilliam Hotel in Belfast.
Since it was established over 40 years ago, the Deluxe Group has developed from a painting and decorating service into a firm which now supplies the services of specialist sculptors and designers specialising in custom features and finishes.
The family-run firm was set up by Colm O’Farrell in 1969 and is now run by his son Colm jr, who said the firm needs to expand production facilities and recruit additional staff in response to growing demand for its services.
“We have identified opportunities for growth in the high-end residential, hospitality, education and theme park markets – and plan to target these over the next two years,” he said.
“Our objective is to significantly grow sales outside Northern Ireland and we need to have the right level of skill and the production capacity to achieve that.”
Invest Northern Ireland has offered £290,000 of support for the 22 new jobs, nine of which are already in place. The new jobs include five production staff and a range of specialist and managerial positions.
Brian Dolaghan, Invest Northern Ireland’s executive director of business and sector development, said that Deluxe has a history of being able to adapt and reposition itself, which helped it through the downturn.
The firm has also recruited a number of workers who were left jobless after the collapse of former rival firm Mivan.
“This investment will allow the company to move into its next phase of growth and further increase its profile in the interiors markets,” he said.
“The new jobs will pay well above the private sector average and provide opportunities for graduates and non-graduates alike.”
