Although the move will create a number of jobs and create work for sub-contractors, it is unlikely to add substantially to the present workforce of 1,400.

The investment is bitter-sweet news for the 800 Seagate employees who are due to lose their jobs in October when a sister plan in Limavady closes down.

Although around 90 of the workers are being redeployed at Springtown, the rest are currently preparing for life after Seagate, their work going to a factory in Malaysia where wage levels are 20% of those in Limavady.

Mercifully, the more sophisticated work carried on at Springtown is less vulnerable to overseas competition, and the future for the plant looks sound, even in these uncertain economic times.

The fact that Seagate is making this investment without recourse to any supporting funding from Invest NI makes the announcement all the more impressive.

The US company has been operating in Northern Ireland since 1994 and it clearly likes what it sees. This investment, albeit over three years, should send out the strongest of messages to corporate America that Northern Ireland is open for business.

Now that Seagate has blazed the trail, the hope must now be that other American companies will follow the track.