The Scottish Government will be “bold, innovative and ambitious” in shaping Scotland’s industrial future, new Economy Secretary Stephen Flynn has said.
In his first official engagement in the role, Mr Flynn met former workers of the Grangemouth refinery and ExxonMobil Mossmorran ethylene plant, alongside Unite the union.
Last year, Grangemouth – Scotland’s only oil refinery – stopped processing crude oil after a century of operations.
Its closure meant the the loss of 430 of the 2,000 jobs based at the industrial complex.
In February, oil giant ExxonMobil closed its Mossmorran plastics plant in Fife with the loss of 400 jobs.
Mr Flynn said: “It has been heartening to hear more about the work that has been undertaken by a wide range of partners to support affected workers at Grangemouth and Mossmorran and drive positive outcomes for them and their families.”
He also visited the Grangemouth Industrial Complex to tour the facilities of Celtic Renewables, a biorefinery which has secured £11 million of Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise funding.
The company is projected to create nearly 150 jobs by 2030.
He continued: “I was also pleased to visit Celtic Renewables, a growing success story which illustrates that there can – and must – be an incredibly bright and positive future for our industrial heartlands and the communities they support.
“It is imperative that we are bold, innovative and ambitious in collectively shaping Scotland’s industrial future. I will work to ensure strong, vibrant and indispensable industries – which have been let down by successive UK governments – are at the heart of Scotland’s economy.”
Scottish Enterprise chief executive Adrian Gillespie said: “It was great to join the Cabinet Secretary at Celtic Renewables and show first hand Scottish Enterprise’s continuing commitment to Grangemouth.
“Celtic Renewables is a strong example of an innovative, scaling company that has benefitted from Grangemouth’s excellent connectivity and skills, enabled by funding and support from Scottish Enterprise and our partners.
“We’ve worked with the company since its start-up in 2011 and continue to do so as it accelerates plans for a full-scale biorefinery creating more high-quality jobs.”
