AERNNOVA and SK10 will invest 450 million Euros in development engineering and industrial installations to undertake these projects, which have been formalised in two contracts worth 4,000 million euros to manufacture carbon fiber components and structures throughout the life of the aircraft.

AERNNOVA and SK10, companies integrated in the Basque Aerospace Cluster HEGAN, have been awarded the two largest work packages for the Airbus A350 XWB programme shared out among Spanish companies. The said companies have formalised two contracts worth a total 4,000 million euros to manufacture carbon fibre components and structures throughout the life of the said aircraft. A new structure contract may be added to the former in the near future, as well as another for systems, tests and engines, that may, subsequently, be extended with new sub-contracts throughout the life of the aircraft.

These two HEGAN companies have become first line suppliers and risk-sharing partners in the new Airbus A350 XWB model; a project for which they are designing and building the horizontal stabiliser and elevator, as well as the "belly faring", a 170 square metre carbon fibre structure.

The companies are planning to invest over 450 million euros in the development engineering phase and in the commissioning of the industrial installations required to develop the project.

The A350 XWB is the latest commercial aircraft launched by Airbus, a range that responds to the existing demand for more ecological and fuel-efficient aircraft. It will be launched on the market in 2013, with a capacity of between 270 and 350 passengers in its three versions and an operational range of up to 15,400 km. Sales in excess of 2,500 units are expected throughout the life of the model.

Aernnova will be responsible for the overall design and production of the A350's horizontal stabiliser and elevator, which requires the conceptual and detailed design process, tests, manufacture of prototypes and support for certification worth a total of 3,000 million euros throughout the useful life of the aircraft. These structures will be mainly manufactured in carbon fibre; a technology in which Aernnova has ample experience and capacity. The investment planned will exceed 250 million euros, including the development engineering phase and the commissioning of industrial installations. The project will create 2,000 direct and indirect jobs from the year 2010, when the industrialisation phase will commence.

Aernnova's engineering department will dedicated over 100 design, calculation and production engineers to this project over the next 4 years. Final assembly and fitting will be performed at the Airbus España plants.

SK10's participation in this programme is worth 1,000 million euros. The work package requires the creation of a strong engineering core and will involve investments of 200 million euros to develop. This will create over 1,000 jobs for a period between fifteen and twenty years. The aircraft's Belly Fairing is a 170 square metre structure based on a metal grille and carbon fibre lining, where the different aviation systems are located.

SK10, together with the Ficosa, the automation sector company, are currently involved in the creation of a large industrial project in the aerospace sector sponsored by the Junta de Andalucia (Andalusia Regional Government), which will integrate Sacesa and that will be known as Alestis Aerospace.

Today, the entire Basque aerospace sector is taking part in the Airbus A380 project, which has led to overall investments of 300 million euros and will guarantee 3,000 million euros of revenue for this region's industrial companies.

The Basque aerospace sector recorded an overall turnover of €963 million in 2007 with an 16 percent increase in growth over the previous year.