First Minister Alex Salmond has today, Tuesday 7 September, announced almost £16.3 million investment in Ayrshire to create and safeguard 287 jobs in Irvine and Prestwick.

The news comes as Scottish Ministers bring the final summer cabinet meeting to Kilmarnock. The above video was taken at The Burns Monument Centre in Kilmarnock.

First Minister Alex Salmond in Kilmarnock

Investment of £16 million, including almost £2 million Regional Selective Assistance (RSA) funding, at Ardagh Glass in Irvine will safeguard the jobs of 248 workers at the plant and ensure facilities are upgraded to secure the long term manufacture of glass in Irvine.

Ardagh Glass is one of Irvine’s largest employers, manufacturing glass containers primarily for the spirits industry.

Culzean Medical Devices in Prestwick, a subsidiary of Lombard Medical Technologies PLC, will create 39 new jobs supported by £297,000 of funding, of which £200,000 is RSA investment.

The expansion will allow the site to become Lombard Medical’s main manufacturing centre for stent grafts, a tubular device that is used in medicine to treat abdominal aortic aneurysms. The investment will also secure the jobs of the seven existing staff who work in Prestwick.

See next page for official statement by First Minister Alex Salmond.