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Magellan holds ribbon cutting for manufacturing centre

A year following an official ground breaking; the company hosted this ceremony to acknowledge the support and dedicated efforts of all three levels of government, major funding partners, their customer, and all of the other stakeholders in this major new undertaking.

At the event, Magellan Aerospace Chairman of the Board, Mr. Murray Edwards, gave special thanks for the support of the Federal Government, the major funding partners, customers, and stakeholders in this major new undertaking. Magellan's guest list included The Honourable Julian Fantino, Associate Minister of National Defence and The Honourable Peter Bjornson, the Manitoba Minister of Entrepreneurship, Training and Trade.

The 138,000 square foot facility at 1855 Ellice Avenue is in the final stages of being equipped with advanced technology for the manufacture of complex composite fabrication and assemblies.  When fully commissioned it will be one of the most advanced composite manufacturing and assembly centres in North America.

The launch customer for the new centre is BAE Systems in the UK, who awarded Magellan a contract to produce F-35 Lightning II horizontal tail components.  Currently up to 1038 ship sets of horizontal tails are planned to be produced by Magellan over the life of the F-35 (also known as the Joint Strike Fighter) program.

Mr. Edwards said, "We are delighted to have this opportunity today to recognize the contribution from the government and our major stakeholders to this program and this remarkable new facility.  Their actions have helped ensure Canadian companies like Magellan remain confident and competitive leaders in the global aerospace market.  The commitment and investment to the program is truly commendable and will have significant economic benefits for Winnipeg and for all of Canada's aerospace industry."

Magellan's President and CEO, Mr. Jim Butyniec said "Over the last decade, Magellan, together with the government, have tactically invested in the necessary knowledge and technology to support this initiative.  Today we are at the point of entering full scale production and are ready to meet the state-of-the-art processing demands to support the F-35 program.   This new facility and its capabilities represent the culmination of over a decade of preparing and planning for this strategic opportunity." he concluded.

Like the Joint Strike Fighter program paradigm, which is based on unparalleled international government and industrial partnerships, this ceremonial ribbon cutting at Magellan celebrates the success of the many partnerships that were forged to make this expansion a reality.