Airbus Industrie SA (Toulouse, France) announced on Sept. 15 that it and GKN (East Cowes, Isles of Wight, U.K.) have signed a contract under which GKN will purchase the
wing component and assemblies manufacturing unit based at Airbus' site
at Filton, U.K. This will result in all operational
business, assets and activities, within the parameters agreed, being
transferred to GKN. As a result of the transaction, GKN is fully
supporting the Airbus Power8 initiative and making further investment
in the unit in order that Filton will continue to play its important
role in Airbus' current and future programs. Several news organizations have reported that GKN paid £136 million/$243.6 million for the facility.
The
manufacturing unit includes a total workforce of approximately 1,500
employees (both manufacturing workers and support staff), which equates
to around 25 percent of Airbus' total workforce at Filton. The unit is
responsible for producing wing components such as the wing leading and
trailing edges; outer wingbox assemblies and shroud box; single-aisle
wing electrical harnesses; ribs and other machined parts; pipe forming,
ducting and other detail components.
"This sale is an
important element of our restructuring programme Power8. It will
provide new opportunities for those involved and will help to
strengthen the Filton aerospace site and the region as a whole," said
Tom Enders, Airbus President and CEO. "For Airbus this decision will
allow us to concentrate on our role of being an aircraft architect and
integrator. Our remaining wing, landing gear and fuel systems business
at Filton is core to this objective."
The agreement is subject
to regulatory approval and is expected to complete by the end of the
year. The contract with GKN also includes major Airbus A350 XWB
work packages for the carbon fiber composite, wing fixed trailing edge,
which GKN plans to manufacture locally.
Airbus is in the process of selling off several manufacturing facilities in England, France and Germany in an effort to reduce production costs and develop a series of risk-sharing production partners, like GKN.
