Boeing and National Manufacturing Institute Scotland have announced the opening of a £12m research and development (R & D) facility in Westway Park in Renfrew.

The facility is based next to Glasgow Airport and within the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland. The facility will help to explore new manufacturing technologies for metallic components and is aiming to double Boeing’s supply chain.

The project has been announced as part of the Boeing Scotland Alliance, an agreement between Boeing and Scottish Enterprise which aims to create 200 new quality jobs in the next five years.

The Metallics Research Centre is home to an £11.8 million R&D programme in collaboration with the University of Strathclyde’s Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC), part of the NMIS Group. The project is supported by £3.5 million of R&D funding from Scottish Enterprise.

Innovating to build “stronger, fairer and more sustainable economy”

Ivan McKee, the Scottish Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise said: “As we recover from the coronavirus pandemic it is vital government and industry innovate together to build a stronger, fairer and more sustainable economy. This project shows our £75 million investment in NMIS is already delivering on that ambition. Aviation and aerospace have a crucial role to play in fighting climate change. We are committed to ending Scotland’s contribution to climate change and, critically, ensuring we do that in a way that is just and fair for everyone.”

Aiming to reduce materials waste and identify opportunities to improve safety, productivity, and the environmental impact of its aircraft, technical teams from Boeing and NMIS are exploring novel manufacturing technologies for metallic components, building on more than a decade’s worth of R&D from the AFRC, where Boeing is a founding partner.

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