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The Most Important
Industrial Battle in
The Area For years
Royal DSM
will focus its (bulk) vitamin C production at
its facility in Dalry, Ayrshire.
 Local
MSP and Enterprise Minister Allan Wilson today welcomed the announcement by
Royal DSM that it will focus its (bulk) vitamin C production at its facility
in Dalry, Ayrshire.
"I have been working with the company (DSM) since it acquired the Dalry
plant from Roche Vitamins Division in 2003 to ensure that the company
remained committed to Scotland as it's global centre for Vitamin C
production. This announcement is the culmination of those years of
engagement and is very good news indeed for all those employed at Dalry as
well as for the local economy" said Mr Wilson.
"I have no doubt that had we been unable to strike a deal with the company
on Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) to complement DSM's own investment
programme then the plant would have closed and production would have been
transferred overseas with a consequentially devastating effect on jobs in
the area" said Mr Wilson.
"Our combined package of support for future investment and re-training will
help the company compete in global markets with their international
competitors, ensure the continued presence of Royal DSM in the Garnock
Valley and provide stability and continuity of employment for the many
families dependent on the company for employment for years to come" said Mr
Wilson.
"It is also evidence that Scotland can compete as a centre of manufacturing
excellence with competition from China and North America and when Government
creates the right economic climate then Ayrshire can remain an attractive
location for international companies to locate and thrive in competition
with the best in the world" concluded Mr Wilson.
Former MP, Brian Wilson, said that the announcement by DSM was "tremendous
news" for the Garnock Valley. He said that discussions over the past year
had been "extremely tense" and that DSM's starting-point had probably been
to close Dalry
and concentrate vitamin production in the US and China.
Mr Wilson added: "In the short-term the number of jobs at Dalry will reduce.
But the real prize is to get new investment and long-term commitment into
the plant and I am sure that this can lay the foundations for the numbers
employed there
to rise again in future.
"This has been the most important industrial battle in the area for years
and the fact that it has been won is due very largely to the exceptional
efforts made by Allan Wilson, both as constituency MSP and minister, to
address each of the difficult issues as they arose.
"The package that has been put together, and DSM's acceptance of it, is the
best possible illustration of the benefits that come from having a Labour
MSP who holds a key post in a Labour-led administration."
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