Boeing to open its first European manufacturing plant in the UK

Boeing has announced that it is building a manufacturing facility in Sheffield, in partnership with the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), making it Boeing’s first European manufacturing plant.

The £20 million investment facility will open in 2018 and will manufacture actuation components for Boeing’s 737, 737 Max and 777 aircrafts. The components will be used on trailing edge actuation systems that are responsible for extending and retracting wing flaps during different phases of flight.

The plant will work closely with the Boeing Commercial Airplane’s facility in Portland, Oregon, that will produce similar parts for these models.  

“Boeing’s decision to open a manufacturing plant in Sheffield reinforces the value of making the UK attractive to international investors,” a spokesperson for the Aerospace, Defence, Security and Space Group has told PE. “The high-skill manufacturing this plant will bring to Sheffield is fantastic news for the local economy and we hope that local supply chains will benefit from Boeing’s presence”. 

The factory will start recruiting in early 2018 and will initially employ approximately 30 people, according to the company. The proposed 2,300 square metre facility is currently under review for planning permissions and will be built alongside the AMRC, the machining and manufacturing research campus that the university founded with Boeing in 2001 as a £15 million collaboration.

“Our decision to start manufacturing high-value components in the UK is a step-change in our engagement and a further example of Boeing’s commitment to grow here, supporting the UK’s long-term prosperity,” says president of Boeing, Sir Michael Arthur.  

A research and development programme will also be launched by Boeing and the AMRC to develop manufacturing techniques to be used on site.

The new plant is going to "open up opportunities for local suppliers to bid for work" and is a part of a drive to increase productivity, Katerina Giannini of Boeing's communications team has told PE. "We’re bringing the work in-house from an external supplier, which will ensure that we can guarantee quality and cost control.”

The plans for the UK manufacturing facility follow the investment initiative announced by Boeing and the government in July 2016.