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February 2007 Automation & Control News

Electroimpact opens facility in Wales

February 21, 2007 - A US aerospace tooling company, a key supplier to Airbus UK, has expanded its operations in Wales, creating more than 20 highly-skilled jobs.

Electroimpact designs and manufactures a range of highly specialised aircraft assembly equipment used in the production of the 853-seat double-deck A380 superjumbo and other Airbus aircraft

Electroimpact's equipment designs, manufactures and installs the electromagnetic automatic wing riveting machines and wing panel assembly systems.

The wing assembly rigs are also used on the Airbus A400M military turboprop range.

The riveting machines - weighing up to 170 tons - are designed, built and tested in the US and then shipped to the UK where they are reassembled at the Airbus sites at Broughton, Flintshire, and Filton, Bristol.

Electroimpact opened a facility in Wales in 2002 to provide a 24/7 engineering support and maintenance service for the systems installed at Broughton.

The company has recently expanded to meet the increased demand for its services and moved from Hawarden to larger premises on Pentre Industrial Estate, Deeside, where it now occupies 10,500sq ft of workspace and office accommodation.

Its expansion, supported by the Welsh Assembly Government with grant aid, has created 22 highly skilled jobs in mechanical, electrical and control engineering, virtually doubling the work-force.

Electroimpact has also joined the Knowledge Bank for Business, and if Broughton wins work on the A350 series of planes the Welsh operation could play a greater role in the design and manufacturing of systems.

Airbus is under pressure to source as much as possible of its technology directly within the EU.

The company has a staff of approximately 55. Individual engineers work on all aspects of a project, from initial development to writing the health and safety manual.

Barry Richards, managing director of Electroimpact's UK operations, said, "It makes the job very difficult but we do recruit very good and very qualified engineers. If we lowered our recruiting standards they would really struggle."

Andrew Davies, Minister for Enterprise Innovation and Networks, said the undisclosed investment demonstrated both confidence and commitment from the US parent.

"This is an excellent project for Wales with the potential that some of the design and build function could be undertaken here in the future making Wales a centre of excellence and a hub for Electroimpact's European operations."

Electroimpact was established in 1986 by Peter Zieve in Seattle. He invented, patented and commercialised "low voltage electro-riveting technology."

The privately-owned company, employing 250 people, began life as a supplier of machine tools to Boeing but has expanded to supply companies including HDH Australia and Israel Aerospace Industries.

Its head office is in Mukilteo, a suburb of Seattle in Washington state and it has a facility in Israel.

It has recently supplied tooling for the Gulfstream G150 eight passenger business jet and the 330-seat Boeing 787 Dreamliner - widely considered the jet posing the greatest competitive threat to the Airbus superjumbo. It will the first major airliner to be made of composite material.

Go to company's web site

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