New aerospace factory in Prestwick, Scotland creates 100 jobs

Spirit AeroSystems Prestwick
Spirit AeroSystems Prestwick

Spirit AeroSystems has opened a new composite manufacturing facility at its site in Prestwick, Scotland to manufacture the Airbus A320’s spoiler.

This facility leverages advanced composite technology from Spirit’s R&D portfolio and brings new work to the site with the A320 aircraft family spoiler.

Nicola Sturgeon, first minister of Scotland, was on site to officially open the new facility.

“This is the result of a three-year journey to secure production of the spoiler in the UK,” said Scott McLarty, Spirit AeroSystem’s senior vice president of Airbus programs. “We appreciate the investment support provided by our government and community partners. This new facility allows us to utilise 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.

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 opening of this new facility is part of Spirit’s journey to become a leader in advanced out of autoclave composite technology,” said Mr McLarty. “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.”

Spirit AeroSystems is one of the largest manufacturers of aerostructures in the world and, 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.

Spirit AeroSystems www.spiritaero.com

Related Articles

Flying high for engineering

The Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) is a showcase to display some of the UK’s most advanced manufacturing. Ed Hill hears how the organisers are helping the industry to generate new business.
7 years ago Features

Farnborough closes on a real high

At the close of the Farnborough International Airshow five day trade exhibition organisers confirmed that the show had recorded orders and options to the value of US$123.9 billion defying industry expectations.
7 years ago News

Making the grade in aerospace

To ensure that the most efficient, cost-effective cutting tools are designed and made available to the global aerospace manufacturing industry, Iscar’s aerospace industry manager remains in constant communication with all of the major sub- sectors involved.
7 years ago Products
Most recent Articles

Renishaw highlights career pathways in engineering

There is not one singular blueprint that can lead to a career in the engineering industry. It offers a variety of roles, open to people from diverse backgrounds. To highlight the diversity of skills and experiences in engineering, global engineering technologies company, Renishaw, has created the ‘Employee perspectives’ series.
1 day ago News

Login / Sign up