At a recent ceremony with Madame Afaf Saidi, a representative of the Moroccan Department of Industry, Collins Aerospace Systems laid the first stone for the expansion of its site in Casablanca. Expected to be complete by spring 2020, the extension will increase the site's size by 40 percent and is anticipated to create 60 new jobs. Collins Aerospace is a unit of United Technologies Corp..

Established in 2012, the Casablanca facility conducts final assembly and testing for commercial aircraft cockpit and cabin equipment, including sidesticks, throttles and rudder controls. The site expansion will support the production of rudder controls for the A320neo family as well as the future assembly of Horizontal Stabilizer Trim Actuators for the 777X—two new programs Collins Aerospace was selected for in recent years.

As Collins Aerospace's sole facility in Northern Africa, the expansion of the Casablanca site is also critical to the company's strategy to grow its footprint in the Middle East and Africa.

"The employees in Casablanca are playing a key role in redefining aerospace by executing on innovative programs for our biggest customers," said Jean-Francois Chanut, general manager, Propeller Systems for Collins Aerospace. "We're also eager to make new connections with suppliers in the region to strengthen Morocco's reputation as a key player in the global aviation ecosystem."