Work starts on £20m Boeing factory
It's the aerospace giant's first manufacturing plant in Europe
Work has started on the Sheffield-Rotherham border on Boeing's first-ever manufacturing plant in Europe.
It’s a move that’s being hailed as a vote of confidence in Sheffield, the north of England and the UK.
Business leaders at today’s groundbreaking ceremony said the “opportunities for jobs, training and innovation that this offers cannot be overstated''.
The facility, which is due to open in late 2018, is situated alongside the University of Sheffield's Factory 2050, part of the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), and builds on a 16-year relationship between the aerospace giant and the university at the centre.
Kim Smith, vice-president of Boeing Fabrication, said at the ceremony: “This is a huge day for us. There's lots of excitement around Boeing about this tremendous opportunity. This is a big deal.''
Ms Smith said the relationship between the company and the AMRC was a key factor in the decision to locate the plant at the Sheffield Business Park - on the site of the defunct Sheffield City Airport and next to the former site of the Orgreave coking plant, where violent clashes took place in the 1984-85 miners' strike.
She said: “That was definitively significant. When you looked at University of Sheffield, the AMRC, the research capability, and all that brings to bear, as well as just the great talent pool here - the history of Sheffield, the roots, the culture and their love and affection for this type of manufacturing capability.''
Sir Michael Arthur, president of Boeing Europe and managing director of Boeing UK and Ireland, said: “Boeing Sheffield is further evidence of Boeing's long-term commitment to the prosperity of this country.''
Sheffield City Council leader Julie Dore says it shows that “not only can the city compete with the south, but we can compete on a scale with some other major cities and agglomerations across Europe and the rest of the world.
“Knowing and seeing that the brand Boeing has chosen Sheffield to invest in is a catalyst for other decision-makers around the world to say, if it's good enough for Boeing it's good enough for anyone.''
The plant will make actuation system components for Boeing's 737 and 777 aircraft in partnership with a plant in Portland, Oregon.
Actuation systems move the flaps on the trailing edge of an aeroplane wing to provide extra lift at low speeds during take-off and landing