Finestral’s new, 1,500 square metre, premises in the San Gwann Inudstrial Estate has opened its doors following an official inauguration on Wednesday.

With a €1.5 million investment in a production line upgraded with state of the art machinery from Italy and Germany, Finestral’s director Kenneth Azzopardi said that this was a continuation of the company’s transformation into market leaders in the UV and apertures industry.

“Being the only company in Malta who possess a fabrication and installation licence from Deceuninck Group, Finestral are a cut above the rest”, Azzopardi said while also emphasising that the company will continue to invest in training its staff as well.

Deceuninck Group is a Belgian company, the world’s biggest exporter of the material, active in more than 75 countries worldwide, including France, Germany, Australia and the United Kingdom.

Economy Minister Chris Cardona said that the manufacturing industry contributes to 11% of total full time employment, making it the second largest employer in the country, and noted that the industry has transformed from one based on large-scale manufacturing for mass markets to one based on exclusivity and value-added operations which focus on niche markets.

He said that despite the success of the industry there is a falling number of youngsters looking for a career in the sector and noted that this is one of the challenges that both the government and the private sector face and will face in the future.

He praised Finestral for doing their utmost to invest in their employees and referred to the Make It promotional campaign which the government launched in tandem with the Chamber of Commerce to try and encourage more youths to take an interest in this industry.

Cardona augured the company for the future and praised them for the investment into state of the art technology that they had made.