Spirit AeroSystems reported that it has signed a contract with Airbus to design and produce a major composite fuselage structure for the A350 XWB program. Spirit will design and manufacture the Section 15 center fuselage frame section, a composite structure that will be approximately 65 feet long, 20 feet wide and weigh nearly 9,000 pounds.
To accommodate this and other new work packages, Spirit announced plans to expand its operations with a new facility in Lenoir County, North Carolina, near the city of Kinston. Spirit and the State of North Carolina have reached an agreement to begin implementation of a multi-phased project to create a Composites Manufacturing Center for aircraft parts and assemblies in North Carolina. A new facility will be constructed in North Carolina’s Global TransPark to accommodate new work packages, and will house both design and build processes. It will initially employ 500 people, with plans to grow employment to 1,000 when all five phases are fully implemented. The project was facilitated by a package of state and local incentives.
Construction of the new facility in North Carolina will begin later this year, with operations expected to commence in 2010. Portions of work on the A350 XWB are also planned to be performed at Spirit Wichita and at the new Spirit Malaysia facility, which is expected to be operational in 2009.
