TWO COMPANIES in Northern Ireland have announced investments totalling £12 million (€14 million), creating 85 jobs.

Tyrone-based meat processor Linden Foods has invested £10 million in new retail packing and product development facilities at its Dungannon headquarters.

The company hopes to create 85 jobs over the next three years on the back of the new investment which would bring its total employment in Tyrone to 520 people.

Linden Foods is part of the Linden Food Group which also consists of Slaney Foods and Irish Country Meats. The company, which has an average turnover of more than £300 million, employs 1,100 people on seven sites across Ireland and England.

Linden Foods hopes the investment in new facilities and product development will help boost sales by 32 per cent, particularly in markets outside Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, Belfast-based HeartSine Technologies also unveiled plans yesterday to invest £2 million in life-saving research.

The company, which employs 50 people, has been at the forefront of designing, developing and manufacturing automated external defibrillators since 1998.

Its easy-to-use life-saving devices are used in more than 32 countries and customers include the White House in Washington; the US president’s Air Force One and the Stormont Executive.

The North’s Minister for Enterprise Arlene Foster has welcomed the investment plans by both companies.