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Spirit AeroSystems opens new manufacturing facility
Spirit AeroSystems has opened a new composite manufacturing facility at its site in Prestwick. The site will produce spoiler wing components for Airbus’ A320 aircraft.
The £22m spoiler manufacturing project includes £2.1m of funding from Scottish Enterprise. The investment has allowed Spirit to establish a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility using the latest automation and robotics. With these innovative technologies, Spirit will achieve the required rate of approximately 700 aircraft and 7,000 spoilers annually, and create more than 100 new jobs in Scotland.
The Rt Hon. Nicola Sturgeon MSP, first minister of Scotland, officially opened the new facility.
Spirit AeroSystems has opened a new composite manufacturing facility at its site in Prestwick / Picture: Scottish Government
Spirit AeroSystems is one of the largest manufacturers of aerostructures in the world with design and build capabilities for both commercial and defence customers. In addition to spoilers, the company currently produces the A320 family leading and trailing edge.
Scott McLarty, Spirit AeroSystem’s senior vice president of Airbus programs, said: “This is the result of a three-year journey to secure production of the spoiler in the UK. We appreciate the investment support provided by our government and community partners. This new facility allows us to utilize innovative technologies like the Spirit-developed Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) solution to better meet the needs of our customer.”
The RTM solution supports the high-volume production of spoilers and other monolithic components and promises to deliver improved quality and significant cost savings.
McLarty added, “The opening of this new facility is part of Spirit’s journey to become a leader in advanced out of autoclave composite technology. It demonstrates how we can develop cost effective new technologies and manufacturing processes that will play a central role in the next generation of aircraft programs.”
The state-of-the-art manufacturing facility will create more than 100 new jobs in Scotland / Picture: Scottish Government
First minister, Nicola Sturgeon, concluded: “Spirit AeroSystems exemplifies how investment in research and development drives innovation and creates high quality jobs.
“Today’s opening provides Prestwick with a world class composite manufacturing facility and increases Spirit’s ability to secure additional work on the next generation of greener aircraft. It is a tribute to the vision, expertise and hard work of everyone working at Spirit and a significant day for Ayrshire and Scottish manufacturing.”