Bombardier officially opens new wing facility in Belfast

Bombardier officially opened its new wing manufacturing and assembly facility in Belfast. Following the addition of close to 1,000 employees to its Northern Ireland workforce over the last two years, Bombardier announced that it will create at least 250 more employment opportunities over the next 12 months, to cater for its expanding aircraft programmes and component repair business. By the end of 2014, this will bring the projected workforce to approximately 6,250. Bombardier’s new 600,000-ft² is producing the wings for the CSeries aircraft, which had its successful maiden flight last month. The wings are made using an innovative carbon-fibre composite technology developed by Bombardier engineers in Northern Ireland. This technology enables both material and aircraft weight savings, which contribute to reduced manufacturing cycle times and reduced fuel burn.