A red letter day: Boeing Sheffield officially opens

The flags of three great global brands fluttered in the breeze today as the Secretary of State for Business, Greg Clark, officially opened Boeing’s first production facility in Europe on what was once the runway of Sheffield city airport.

With the flags of Boeing, Made in Sheffield and the Union Jack flying high above the new 6,200-square-metre facility, Mr Clark said this was truly a ‘red letter day for Sheffield, the city region and the country’ opening new opportunities for young people to become the engineers of the future.

“There is no better place on the planet than Sheffield to become an engineer, and no better company on the planet to work as an engineer,” he said. “Boeing choosing Sheffield as its first European home is testament to the region’s capabilities, talent pool and strong manufacturing supply chains which are vital to job creation and creating value for local economies.”

Jenette Ramos, Senior Vice President of Manufacturing, Supply Chain & Operations for Boeing, who led the high-level delegation flown in for the day, said that the £40 million investment Boeing had made was more about people than buildings.

She welcomed the 25 young apprentices in the audience to the Boeing community and presented a short film that highlighted their role in the new facility which will manufacture more than 100 different high-tech actuation components for the 737 and 767 wing trailing edge.