Moog factory opened at i54 in Wolverhampton

Moog Inc president John Scannell and chairman Rober Brady travelled from the United States for the ceremony last Monday.

The project to build the new factory on the 11-acre site was supported by the European Regional Development Fund, Wolverhampton City Council, Staffordshire County Council and South Staffordshire Council.

It replaces the 78-year old former Dowty Boulton Paul factory premises in Wobaston Road which Moog acquired when it bought the operation from General Electric in 2009 for £56m.

The i54 will eventually benefit from an off-ramp exit from the M54 motorway.

Andy Hughes, Moog's Wolverhampton operations director said: "We have a beautiful new building that affords us the unique opportunity to incorporate optimized flow-line technologies and development labs.

"We look forward to competitively growing our primary, secondary and high-lift flight control systems."

Moog's high-performance systems control military and commercial aircraft, satellites and space vehicles, launch vehicles, missiles, automated industrial machinery, wind turbines, marine and medical equipment.

The president of the aircraft controls group Warren Johnson also attended the opening of the new factory where more than 400 highly skilled staff are employed in development and manufacture of flight control actuation systems for civil and military aircraft applications

Moog group sales last year were £1.4 billion and are expected to top £1.5bn this year. Aircraft group sales are predicted to rise from £524m to £587m.

More than 70 different military and commercial aircraft fly with Moog hardware.

Mr Hughes said Moog was appreciative of the support provided by the European Regional Development Fund, Wolverhampton City Council, Staffordshire County Council and South Staffordshire Council in moving to its new location.

Staffordshire County Council's deputy leader and cabinet member for economic growth and enterprise Ben Adams said: "Moog's official opening on site is a key milestone for i54 South Staffordshire and demonstrates it is very much open for business.

"It's great to see a world leading company up and running on site, joining Eurofins and soon to be followed by Jaguar Land Rover. Moog is bringing highly skilled manufacturing jobs to i54 South Staffordshire and is another example of the county's diverse business family.

"We very much look forward to the company's continued success and further growth, impacting on the county and regional economy."

Councillor Peter Bilson, Wolverhampton City Council's cabinet member for economic regeneration and prosperity, said: "We are delighted to welcome a renowned company such as Moog to i54 as they officially open their new centre.

"The site is about creating thousands of new jobs and providing a huge boost to the local economy and Moog has already played its part in helping achieve this.

"All three authorities are working together to make sure the infrastructure is in place to support i54 and attract many more businesses to the area."

Councillor Brian Edwards, leader of South Staffordshire Council, said: "Moog's was the first facility to be built at i54 South Staffordshire which signalled the start of a new chapter for our area.

"South Staffordshire Council's first involvement with Moog was in the summer of 2010 where Moog were clear what they wanted and we were equally clear that South Staffordshire Council should do everything it could to make their decision to come to i54 South Staffordshire as easy as it possibly could be.

"With a highly skilled workforce on our doorstep, new jobs and new prosperity the investment into i54 will change the face of our local economy for generations to come. Moog's decision to relocate to i54 South Staffordshire was the turning point for the wider i54 South Staffordshire site."