The US owned international IT call centre, Stream International, is to double the workforce at its Derry plant within the next 18 months. Mr Steve Moore, the company's chairman and chief executive officer, said yesterday that because of the success of the operation in Derry's Ulster Science and Technology Park, more staff were needed to service the company's European and worldwide network.

"Since setting up here in 1995, Stream's experience of Northern Ireland has been extremely positive. However at first some of our clients did have reservations about servicing their operations from a Northern Ireland base," Mr Moore said.

"The quality of the work carried out by our people here in Derry has, however, erased any doubt and we are now growing at a considerable pace. We are currently employing 200 people and we hope to expand this figure considerably in the next 12 months," he said.

"We feel really comfortable committing to about another 200 people by the end of 1999".