Sensata breaks ground on R&D, office project in N Ireland

Newtonabbey, UK – Tire sensors maker Sensata Technologies has broken ground on a project to build a major R&D and admin centre in Newtownabbey, Northern Ireland.

The facility will include bespoke research, testing and office space for engineering, software development and services employees, Sensata said 8 June.

Designed to accommodate up to 500 employees, the €19-million unit in the Global Point Business Park in County Antrim is slated to be constructed within two years.

Sensata needs facilities "for our support staff and effective R&D spaces for our design, testing and process engineering teams,” said Darren Walker, Northern Ireland site leader.

The project will support efforts to make vehicles safer and provide more data to the driver and, in some cases, fleet managers, according to Walker.

Driven by the rapid pace of developments in the automotive industry, "we are constantly researching, testing and improving our product lines,” he added.

The new site will complement the company’s existing Antrim manufacturing unit and will follow Sensata’s newly adopted ‘hybrid working pattern’.

Based on the new way of working, most of Sensata’s teams work two days from home and three days in the office.

Sensata , formerly Schrader Electronics, develops sensors and sensor-based systems for a range of industries: the portfolio including tire pressure monitoring systems.