Safety firm Gentex secures £5.7m investment
A £5.7m investment in research and development is being made at the Gentex defence and industrial safety factory in Stranraer.
It will help create up to 20 new jobs over the coming years at the south-west Scotland site which currently has more than 80 staff.
The move is being supported by a £1.5m grant from Scottish Enterprise.
It is hoped the investment will help increase sales of the company's PureFlo respiratory protection systems.
"We're delighted to partner with Scottish Enterprise," said Gentex president LP Frieder.
"Their support enables us to accelerate our technological innovation in respiratory protection, which will benefit industrial workers around the globe."
Finance Secretary Derek Mackay said he welcomed the investment which was "testament to the skilled workforce" in Stranraer.
"They have a global reputation as a market leader and their continued investment and commitment shows that in an increasingly competitive global market it is encouraging that year after year, international firms are seeing Scotland as an attractive place to come and invest," he said.
Iain Scott of Scottish enterprise added: "As Scotland's innovation agency, we support and encourage exactly this kind of business innovation as it leads directly to commercial products and services that can open up new revenue streams.
"Gentex Corporation is a great example of a company embracing innovation to drive its future growth and we wish it every success with its latest R&D project."