“We are delighted to mark this major investment in a new facility for the production of advanced composite aircraft wings," says Michael Ryan, Vice President and General Manager, Bombardier Aerospace. "The CSeries aircraft programme will help to build on our track record of almost 40 years experience in composites technology. We are currently testing and proving out the design, manufacturing and assembly processes for the CSeries aircraft wing. We are making excellent progress and are very pleased with the results so far.”

Bombardier Belfast has successfully assembled a pre-production demonstrator wing using its composites resin transfer infusion process, and is on track to begin testing this in early 2010.

"The CSeries aircraft programme is progressing well and to schedule, and we look forward to receiving the first test wing from Belfast in 2011,” according to Guy Hachey, President and CEO, Bombardier Aerospace.

The new 600 000 ft² (55 742 m²) factory is being built in two phases and will incorporate an existing production building. The facility’s design and layout are being optimised both for the production process and to minimise environmental impact.

Almost 400 engineering and support staff in Belfast are currently engaged in the research and development of the wings. Some 800 jobs will be generated during full production, as well as many more in the wider supply chain.

The CSeries family of aircraft was launched at the Farnborough Air Show in July 2008. The CSeries aircraft are designed for the longer range, single-aisle 100- to 145-seat market.