Spirit won a contract with Airbus in May 2008 to design and produce the A350 XWB’s composite centre fuselage structure, known as Section 15. This composite structure will be approximately 65 ft long, 20 ft wide and weigh nearly 9000 lbs.

Spirit, an independent supplier of commercial aircraft assemblies and components, is building the plant in Saint-Nazaire to receive centre fuselage frame sections for the Airbus A350 XWB (Xtra Wide-Body) commercial aircraft from its facility in Kinston, North Carolina, USA. The sections designed and manufactured in North Carolina will be shipped across the Atlantic and assembled in Saint-Nazaire before being transported to Airbus. The A350 XWB final assembly line is currently under construction in Toulouse, France.

Spirit [NYSE: SPR] will also produce the front spars for the A350 at the Kinston plant, which is scheduled to be operational in 2010.