Company type | Private |
---|---|
Industry | Aerospace |
Founded | 20 November 1997 |
Headquarters | Bristol , United Kingdom |
Key people | Katherine Bennett CBE (senior vice-president) [1] |
Products | Aerostructures |
Revenue | £2,068 million (2005) [2] |
Number of employees | 10,135 (2005) [2] |
Parent | Airbus |
Website | www |
Airbus UK is a wholly owned subsidiary of Airbus which produces wings for Airbus aircraft. When Airbus was incorporated as a joint-stock company in 2001, BAE Systems transferred its UK Airbus facilities in return for a 20% share of the new company. These facilities became Airbus UK. The company has two main sites responsible for the design and manufacture of the high-technology wings for all Airbus models as well as overall design and supply of the fuel system. For most Airbus models, the company is responsible for overall design and supply of landing gear. The company employs around 13,000 people at two sites: Filton, where the engineering and design activity takes place along with some manufacturing, and Broughton, where other major wing component manufacturing and all wing assembly takes place.
Hawker Siddeley (which merged with British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) in 1977 to form British Aerospace) was part of the first Airbus project, the Airbus A300. The British government withdrew support in 1969 but Hawker Siddeley was allowed to continue as supplier of the aircraft's wings due to the advanced stages of design and the reluctance of other nations to take over the wing design. In 1979 BAe rejoined the Airbus consortium. In 2001 Airbus Industries became Airbus S.A.S., the Airbus Integrated Company.
Airbus UK started work on the wings for the Airbus A380 in August 2002. [3]
In April 2006 BAE Systems announced its intention to sell its share of Airbus SAS to EADS. [4] BAE originally sought to agree a price with EADS through an informal process. However, due to the slow pace of negotiations and disagreements over price, BAE exercised its put option which saw investment bank Rothschild appointed to give an independent valuation.
On 2 July 2006 Rothschild valued BAE's stake at £1.9 billion (€2.75 billion); well below the expectation of BAE, analysts and even EADS. [5] On 5 July 2006 BAE appointed independent auditors to study why the value of its share of Airbus had fallen from the original estimates to the Rothschild valuation. On 6 September 2006 BAE agreed to sell its stake in Airbus to EADS for £1.87 billion (€2.75 billion, $3.53 billion), pending BAE shareholder approval. [6] On 4 October shareholders voted in favour of the sale. [7]
Airbus wing design and production was assigned to UK largely because of the advanced wing design of Hawker Siddeley Trident (D.H.121), designed by De Havilland. In the early days of Airbus, De Havilland design teams based in Hatfield worked on Airbus wing design and wing assembly was carried out in Broughton (a De Havilland manufacturing site). After Hawker Siddeley (the parent company of De Havilland) had become part of British Aerospace, the Hatfield site was closed. From the 1990s onwards, Airbus design work has been carried out at the Filton site, which was originally the Bristol Aeroplane Company. [8]
The Filton site is located on the former Bristol Aeroplane Company site, which was later used as the final assembly line for the British-built Concorde aircraft (the French-built Concordes were assembled in Toulouse, which is also now an Airbus site).
Airbus Filton employs over 4,500 people in a variety of roles. The site is responsible for the design of the wing structure, fuel systems and landing gear integration. Some manufacturing also takes place in Filton, including the wing assembly for the A400M. Aerodynamics work, research and testing is also carried out. [9] In 2008, Airbus sold most of the component manufacturing activities on the Filton site to GKN, which continues to use these facilities to manufacture Airbus parts as a subcontractor. [10] In 2011 Airbus announced the construction of a new office complex, referred to as the "Aerospace Park", at the Filton site. [11]
The current Airbus Broughton site was founded in 1939 as a shadow factory for the production of the Vickers Wellington and the Avro Lancaster. After the War De Havilland took over the factory and it was used to produce various aircraft, including the Mosquito and the Comet. [12]
Today Airbus Broughton employs over 6,500 people, mostly in manufacturing roles. The site is responsible for the wing assembly for all Airbus aircraft, with the exception of the Chinese A320s (these wings are assembled in China) and the A400M (assembled in Filton). Airbus wings are transported by Airbus Beluga or Airbus BelugaXL to the final assembly lines at Airbus Hamburg Finkenwerder and Airbus Toulouse. [9]
British Aerospace plc (BAe) was a British aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer that was formed in 1977. Its head office was at Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire. It purchased Marconi Electronic Systems, the defence electronics and naval shipbuilding subsidiary of the General Electric Company, in 1999 to form BAE Systems.
Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA) was a Spanish aircraft manufacturer that was founded in 1923 and began manufacturing aircraft the following year. In 1999 it became a subsidiary of the EADS under the name EADS CASA and in 2009 was absorbed into Airbus Military. CASA is noted for designing and producing military transport aircraft such as the CASA C-212 Aviocar, the CASA CN-235, the CASA C-295 and the CASA C-101 trainer/ground attack aircraft.
The de Havilland Aircraft Company Limited was a British aviation manufacturer established in late 1920 by Geoffrey de Havilland at Stag Lane Aerodrome Edgware on the outskirts of north London. Operations were later moved to Hatfield in Hertfordshire.
Hawker Siddeley was a group of British manufacturing companies engaged in aircraft production. Hawker Siddeley combined the legacies of several British aircraft manufacturers, emerging through a series of mergers and acquisitions as one of only two such major British companies in the 1960s. In 1977, Hawker Siddeley became a founding component of the nationalised British Aerospace (BAe). Hawker Siddeley also operated in other industrial markets, such as locomotive building and diesel engine manufacture. The company was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
The British Aerospace 146 is a short-haul and regional airliner that was manufactured in the United Kingdom by British Aerospace, later part of BAE Systems. Production ran from 1983 until 2001. Avro International Aerospace manufactured an improved version known as the Avro RJ. Production for the Avro RJ version began in 1992. Later on, a further-improved version with new engines, the Avro RJX, was announced in 1997, but only two prototypes and one production aircraft were built before production ceased in 2001. With 387 aircraft produced, the Avro RJ/BAe 146 is the most successful British civil jet airliner program.
The Airbus A400M Atlas is a European four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. It was designed by Airbus Military, now Airbus Defence and Space, as a tactical airlifter with strategic capabilities to replace older transport aircraft, such as the Transall C-160 and the Lockheed C-130 Hercules. The A400M is sized between the C-130 and the Boeing C-17 Globemaster III. It can carry heavier loads than the C-130 and can use rough landing strips. In addition to its transport capabilities, the A400M can perform aerial refueling and medical evacuation when fitted with appropriate equipment.
The British Aerospace 125 is a twinjet mid-size business jet. Originally developed by de Havilland and initially designated as the DH.125 Jet Dragon, it entered production as the Hawker Siddeley HS.125, which was the designation used until 1977. Later on, more recent variants of the type were marketed as the Hawker 800.
de Havilland Aircraft Pty Ltd (DHA) was part of de Havilland, then became a separate company. It acquired the Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation in 1985 and was purchased by Boeing in 2000 and merged with the Boeing owned AeroSpace Technologies of Australia to become Hawker de Havilland Aerospace Pty Ltd. In 2009, the name was changed to Boeing Aerostructures Australia (BAA) and is a subsidiary of Boeing Australia Ltd.
Filton Airport or Filton Aerodrome was a private airport in Filton and Patchway, within South Gloucestershire, 4 NM north of Bristol, England.
Broughton is a village in Flintshire, Wales, close to the Wales–England border, located to the west of the city of Chester, England, in the community of Broughton and Bretton. Along with the nearby village of Bretton, the total population was 5,791 at the 2001 Census, increasing to 5,974 at the 2011 Census.
Hawarden Airport, is an airport near Hawarden in Flintshire, Wales, near the border with England and 3.5 NM west southwest of the English city of Chester.
The Ville de Bordeaux is a ship carrier designed to transport the elements of the Airbus A380.
BAE Systems Military Air & Information is a business unit of British defence company BAE Systems responsible for the design, development, manufacture and support of fixed wing military aircraft. MAI customers include the Royal Air Force, Royal Saudi Air Force, US Navy and Indian Air Force.
The aerospace industry of the United Kingdom is the second-largest national aerospace industry in the world and the largest in Europe by turnover, with a global market share of 17% in 2019. In 2020, the industry employed 116,000 people.
Airbus SE is a European multinational aerospace corporation. The company consists of three core units. Its primary business is the design and manufacturing of commercial aircraft but it also has separate defence and space and helicopter divisions. Since 2019, Airbus is the world's largest manufacturer of airliners as well as the leading helicopter manufacturer.
Airbus Defence and Space is the division of Airbus SE responsible for the development and manufacturing of the corporation's defense and space products and providing related services. The division was formed in January 2014 during the corporate restructuring of European Aeronautic Defense and Space (EADS) into Airbus SE, and comprises the former Airbus Military, Astrium, and Cassidian divisions. It is the world's third-largest space company after SpaceX and Boeing, and one of the top ten defense and space companies in the world.
Stelia Aerospace is an aerospace company headquartered in Toulouse, France. It specializes in designing and manufacture of aerostructures, pilot seats and premium class passenger seats, mainly for the commercial aviation sector.
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