Seagate helps promote healthier lives in the west

The Western Investing for Health (WIFH) Partnership, supported by the Public Health Agency (PHA), has welcomed Seagate Technology as its newest member.
Seagate joins 29 other organisations from the public, private, community and voluntary sectors working to promote ‘healthier, happier, longer lives for all’ and to ‘inspire and lead people to work together for positive living’. These include local councils, healthy living centres, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, the Omagh Chamber of Commerce and the Caw/Nelson Drive Action Group.

June Coates, corporate communications manager at Seagate’s Springtown facility, will represent the company on the partnership; she has been with Seagate since 1993.

Describing the importance of Seagate’s membership, Brendan Bonner, PHA head of health and social wellbeing improvement (west), said: “Having input from the private sector into the health improvement agenda brings an added dimension to our planning process. It’s important to hear the views of all stakeholders but also provides an opportunity to promote an understanding of the wider issues that affect health inequalities.
“June brings a range of skills that will help the WIFH address issues such as workplace health, promotion of health awareness and engaging with other stakeholders. WIFH also hope that membership of the partnership will provide June with new skills and knowledge that she can use in her professional life."
 
June Coates added: “At Seagate, we now employ more than 1,300 people at our wafer fabrication facility in Springtown, where we develop and manufacture recording heads (the highly complex component which writes information onto, and reads information from, the recording disk inside a hard drive product).

“Seagate's representation on the Western Investing for Health Partnership Board is driven by the company's belief that the health and wellbeing of its employees and the local population is critical to the stability and vitality of its business and the communities in which it operates. Seagate provides wellness programmes, health resources and fitness centres at most of its facilities worldwide. And the communities where it operates the company supports organisations committed to providing health and wellness resources, support and education to those who need it.”