US aerospace giant Boeing to invest £20m in factory

US aerospace giant Boeing is moving into South Yorkshire with a £20m investment, hot on the heels of McLaren’s major investment in the city.

The multi-billion dollar company is in the process of submitting planning applications to start work on a 25,000 sq ft factory near the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing research centre.

There it will manufacture complex parts for its 737 and 777 airliners.

The Rotherham site will be the company’s first UK manufacturing site.

Sir Michael Arthur, president of Boeing in the UK, said: “We are ramping up production of our aircraft and want to have more control over key systems in our aeroplanes. We need the right quality and want to do it ourselves.”

“The U.K. provides Boeing with the talent and infrastructure we need to grow and maintain a high level of productivity and quality to meet our significant order book,” said Sir Michael Arthur, president of Boeing Europe and managing director of Boeing U.K. and Ireland.

“We are proud to expand our relationship with the U.K. still further with Boeing Sheffield. Our decision to start manufacturing high-value components in the U.K. is a step-change in our engagement and a further example of Boeing’s commitment to grow here, supporting the U.K.’s long-term prosperity.”Sir Nigel Knowles, Chair of the SCR’s Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “This is fantastic news for the region and a major vote of confidence in our ability to combine R&D expertise with actually making things.

“This investment will play to the strengths of our supply chain and skilled workforce and I am delighted that such a highly respected world leader as Boeing recognised this.”

Boeing currently employs 2,300 people in the UK in its civils and military businesses.

Earlier this month, supercar manufacturer McLaren announced it was moving into Sheffield with a £50m investment in a factory at the AMRC, creating 200 jobs.

 

 

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