Bombardier has announced that the first phase of construction of the 55,742m facility in Belfast that will house the manufacture and assembly of the advanced composite wings for the new CSeries commercial aircraft has been completed on schedule.
The first phase incorporates a production area, a low contamination clean room area and a tool storage area. Main equipment including a fabric cutter, multiple axis machine cell, pre-formers and autoclave, is currently being installed and commissioned in preparation for production of the CSeries aircraft wings, which is due to begin in 2011.
“A year ago, we celebrated the start of construction of this brand new facility, and I am delighted that the first phase of this major investment – the largest ever in Northern Ireland – is now complete,” said Michael Ryan, vice-president and general manager, Bombardier Aerospace, Belfast. “We are also progressing with the composite wing development and test program as planned, and look forward to starting production of the CSeries aircraft wing early next year.”
Several local Northern Ireland companies have been engaged in the production of the demonstrator wing, in addition to the local firms involved in the design, construction and equipping of the new wing facility. Northern Ireland companies will also have an opportunity to bid for work packages on the wing production in the coming months. Meanwhile, a delegation of SMEs from Northern Ireland took part in a B2B meetings event hosted by Invest Northern Ireland in Washington this week with some of Bombardier's US suppliers.
“Not only is the CSeries aircraft wing programme enabling us to further develop and build on our composites capabilities, it is also providing significant spin-offs and benefits to the wider economy,” added Ryan.
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