New Airbus wing factory opens in UK

The Prime Minister joined hundreds of guests and Airbus employees to unveil the Airbus North Factory at Broughton, Flintshire where 650 people will eventually work. Bigger than Wembley Stadium, it is one of the largest manufacturing facilities to be built in the UK in recent years and will produce high-tech carbon fibre ‘composite’ wings for the A350 XWB.

Over £3 billion has been invested in the aircraft and its engines by UK aerospace companies in the programme which underpins the key position of the UK as a global centre of aerospace manufacture.

The North Factory assembly line is dedicated to assembling the 31 metre long wings for all members of the A350 XWB Family which is scheduled to enter service by the end of 2013. Currently employing 6,000 people, the 700 acre Airbus site at Broughton specializes in wing production and has a proud tradition of aerospace manufacture going back over 70 years. Over £1.8 billion has been invested into the site in the past decade ensuring it is one of the most modern manufacturing facilities of its type anywhere in the world.

Optimised for energy savings, the factory’s power comes in part from three large solar tracking arrays and a wood pellet biomass power plant boiler.