Northern Ireland’s Commitment to Aerospace “Factories of the Future”

Northern Ireland’s Commitment to Aerospace “Factories of the Future”

This past spring, when Airbus announced that Spirit AeroSystems would be responsible for developing and manufacturing the wings for its revolutionary CityAirbus NextGen prototype, it marked the beginning of a new chapter for Northern Ireland’s storied aerospace industry. The announcement was also further proof of the sector’s resilience, diversification and growth, despite the unprecedented impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Northern Ireland’s Aerospace & Defense sector is a $1.6bn industry. Today, every major commercial aircraft program depends on structures, components, and expert services from Northern Ireland.

The level of proximity and cohesion in the region means that 100+ firms are within a one-hour drive of each other - a high density of suppliers across all elements of the aerospace supply chain, from design and manufacture (world leading capabilities in machining, composites, polymers), to coatings, assembly, certification and testing.

Airbus, Boeing, Collins Aerospace, Embraer, BAE Systems, Spirit AeroSystems, and GKN Aerospace, are among the OEMs and Tier 1 firms currently working with Northern Ireland Aerospace. International investors successfully operating in the region in addition to Spirit includes Collins Aerospace, Magellan Aerospace, RLC, SAM, AVIC and Thales.

The Northern Ireland-based companies provide the full gambit of aerospace needs from precision machining, composites design and manufacturing, advanced metal forming, seating and interiors, stress testing and tooling design and manufacturing. Chances are you have sat in a seat made in the region with one in three of the world’s aircraft seats made in Northern Ireland. In fact, around 50 percent of the UK’s aircraft interiors output comes from Northern Ireland.

The sector is supported by world leading research hubs like the Northern Ireland Advanced Composites & Engineering Centre (NIACE), the Electronics, Communications and Information Technology Centre (ECIT), and the Northern Ireland Technology Centre (NITC) all in close proximity.

Over the next few years, Northern Ireland will benefit from a package of investment from four City & Growth Deals, with combined funding of £1.3bn, which will be complemented by private sector and other sources of funding.

These significant deals will help create global centers of innovation excellence in key growth sectors, with aerospace playing a major part. They will provide opportunities for businesses, located both in and outside Northern Ireland, to collaborate and tap into the world-leading expertise of Northern Ireland’s universities to create breakthrough technologies, products and services. Additionally, they will develop the infrastructure and test environments that will allow the next generation of products to be tested.

A £98m Advanced Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC) project led by Queen’s University in partnership with Ulster University, Antrim & Newtownabbey Council will provide fresh capabilities for the NI Advanced Composites and Engineering Centre (NIACE) and create a 10,500m² state-of-the-art facility at Global Point in Newtownabbey, giving advanced manufacturing and engineering businesses access to the very latest technology, specialist equipment and expertise.

The ‘Factory of the Future’ will be AMIC’s flagship facility and will become Northern Ireland’s national center for advanced manufacturing, significantly accelerating levels of innovation and collaboration between industry and researchers.

To learn more, contact mark.reid@investni.com or access investni.com/international-business