Spirit AeroSystems opens new spoiler manufacturing facility

Spirit AeroSystems announced today it has opened a new composite manufacturing facility at its site in Prestwick, Scotland. This facility leverages advanced composite technology from Spirit's research and development portfolio and brings new work to the site in the form of the Airbus A320 family spoiler. The Rt Hon. Nicola Sturgeon MSP, first minister of Scotland, was on site today to officially open the new facility.

"This is the result of a three-year journey to secure production of the spoiler in the UK," said Scott McLarty, Spirit AeroSystem's senior vice president of Airbus programs. "We appreciate the investment support provided by our government and community partners. This new facility allows us to utilize innovative technologies like the Spirit-developed Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) solution to better meet the needs of our customer."

The RTM solution supports the high-volume production of spoilers and other monolithic components and promises to deliver improved quality and significant cost savings. The investment has allowed Spirit to establish a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility using the latest automation and robotics. With these innovative technologies, Spirit will achieve the required rate of approximately 700 aircraft and 7,000 spoilers annually, and create more than 100 new jobs in Scotland.

"The opening of this new facility is part of Spirit's journey to become a leader in advanced out of autoclave composite technology," said McLarty. "It demonstrates how we can develop cost effective new technologies and manufacturing processes that will play a central role in the next generation of aircraft programs."

Spirit AeroSystems is one of the largest manufacturers of aerostructures in the world with design and build capabilities for both commercial and defense customers. In addition to spoilers, the company currently produces the A320 family leading and trailing edge.