PM opens £400m Airbus wing factory
PRIME Minister David Cameron has opened the new £400m wing factory at the new Airbus North facility in Broughton, near Chester.
The factory is one of the largest manufacturing facilities to be built in the UK and will eventually house around 650 employees producing high-tech, carbon fibre wings for the Airbus A350 XWB.
Airbus has said the A350 XWB programme will support more than 1,200 jobs at its own sites at Broughton and at Filton in Bristol. It also says that around 5,000 highly-skilled jobs will be created in its supply chain.
Mr Cameron said: “The Government is committed to building a more balanced economy with stronger manufacturing, exports and private investment.
“I welcome the opening of Airbus’s new state of the art facility which will contribute to this and support our programme to create sustainable economic growth. Airbus’s investment here also underlines its confidence in the expertise of its British workforce and in the UK’s manufacturing base.”
The Airbus North facility will have an assembly line producing 31m-long wings for the new A350 XWB, which is scheduled to enter service by the end of 2013.
In total, Airbus employs around 7,000 people on its 700-acre Broughton plant on the Welsh-English border.
Secretary of State for Wales Cheryl Gillan said:” This magnificent facility is a key part of the A350 XWB programme which will help sustain and support thousands of jobs across the UK.
“I have been a frequent visitor to Airbus and am confident this will further cement Wales’ growing reputation as a first class innovator and leader in the Aerospace and supply chain sector.”
