AEC given green light for new £60m base in Solihull
SOLIHULL Council has granted planning consent for Aero Engine Controls (AEC)’s new £60m advanced manufacturing and technology facility at Birmingham Business Park.
AEC, currently based at Hall Green in Birmingham has already begun the selection process to find a main contractor to start building the new headquarters later this year. It is anticipated that about 70 construction jobs will be created during the build of the new facility.
AEC – a 50:50 joint venture between Rolls-Royce and Goodrich Corporation – will start re-locating more than 1,100 West Midlands AEC staff to their new state-of-the-art facility during 2014. The 250,000 sq ft building will incorporate technology, design, development, manufacturing and testing capabilities, with associated expansion space.
Simon Burr, CEO of AEC, said: “This is fantastic news for everybody at AEC and we can now look towards growing the business for the future.
“The support we have received from Solihull Council has been tremendous. With such a large and complex project such as this, it’s vital that everyone works together to ensure everything proceeds smoothly – and that is exactly what has happened for us.”
Councillor Ken Meeson, leader of Solihull Council, said: “Solihull has a world-renowned reputation as a centre of excellence for advanced engineering so it’s great news for the borough that AEC is building its new headquarters here.”
AEC specialises in the design, development, manufacture, qualification and support of aircraft engine control systems for the large civil, regional and business, helicopter and defence markets.
The firm employs 1,500 skilled people in engineering, manufacturing, service and office facilities in the UK (Birmingham, Derby and Belfast) and the US (Indianapolis).
