Joy in the air as First Minister confirms up to 150 jobs at Spirit
Up to 150 jobs could be created by Spirit’s aerospace bonanza at Prestwick.
We exclusively revealed last week how the engineering giant had landed a pivotal new contract with Airbus.
The package to build wing spoilers was confirmed by Nicola Sturgeon, on a visit there on Thursday.
An initial 100 new posts are being created as a result of the deal to produce hi- spec carbon components.
But we understand another 50 positions could be added to the mix.
Scottish Enterprise provided £ 2.1million in research and development ( R& D) support to Spirit to help push the deal through.
The Kansas- based firm has pledged to establish a “world- class manufacturing platform” capable of delivering more than 600 spoilers per month.
Production on the Airbus A320 single aisle fleet is scheduled to begin by 2019.
The contract further secures the company’s long term future at Prestwick, where 700 staff are already employed.
Scott McLarty, vice president and general manager of Spirit’s UK and Malaysia facilities, hailed the huge boost for the plant.
He said: “This is an opportunity for us to leverage our technology, design, engineering and manufacturing expertise to better support the needs of our customers, and it strengthens our ability to secure future work.”
Ms Sturgeon, who was in town to announce a wider £ 45million injection to the economy, added: “Spirit AeroSystems is an excellent example of a company providing industry- leading expertise and investing in Scotland.
“It is significant that research and development grant support from Scottish Enterprise has helped the business win this important new Airbus contract.”
Jeane Freeman, MSP for Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, said: “This is excellent news for Spirit AeroSystems and shows the benefits research and development funding support can achieve.
“It is a testament to the work they do and I have no doubt that this business will continue to go from strength to strength.
“The extra £ 45 million investment by the Scottish Government will allow other businesses just like Spirit to produce innovations for Scotland’s future and play the integral role they do and add to the strength of our engineering and aerospace skills in Ayrshire.”