Why aerospace giant Boeing is keen to build another multi-million pound factory in Yorkshire

Speaking exclusively to The Yorkshire Post, Anna Keeling, managing director of Boeing Defence UK, said South Yorkshire was an attractive base for the aviation company due to its innovation and manufacturing skills and that Boeing Commercial was keen to expand its presence in the region.

It’s understood that Boeing bosses bought a large plot of land from Sheffield University and triggered ‘phase two’ last year.

The plan is to make different, but complementary, parts to Boeing Sheffield, but in a much bigger factory.

It will also take advantage of the same Sheffield University research skills that first attracted it to the region.

“We are continuing to evaluate those plans and I don’t think we have any specific timing yet as to when that might happen but we’re looking at the success of Boeing Sheffield so far and it’s definitely something we’re keen to do,” Ms Keeling said.

There are now 75 employees at Boeing Sheffield, the company’s first manufacturing site in Europe, which opened in October 2018. About 20 of those are apprentices.

The factory makes components which are used on the trailing edge of the wings for the 737 and 767 commercial aeroplanes.

Ms Keeling said that the £40m factory at Sheffield Business Park was just reaching the stage where the parts would be shipped to the US for production for the first time.

The decision to build the factory in Yorkshire was made because “the UK is viewed as an innovation powerhouse by Boeing,” she said.

It already had a base at the nearby Advanced Manufacturing and Research Centre (AMRC). However, when it looked at the business cases for potential locations, it also discovered that the city more cost effective than Mexico.

Meanwhile, Ms Keeling, who took up her post in January 2019, said she also plans to expand the UK footprint of Boeing Defence.

Boeing’s defence and commercial divisions together operate across 65 sites and employ 2,500 people directly.

“It’s extremely important to have a regional presence across the UK because our model is a hub and spoke model. We have centres of excellence but we also need to be located close to our customers,” she said.

Ms Keeling, was speaking during a visit to Leeds for the Forward Ladies National Awards Grand Final.

During her keynote speech on gender diversity, she told the audience that they did not have to be a manager, an entrepreneur, a business leader or an executive in order to lead.

“Leadership is not a title, it’s not power. Leadership is not a position. Leadership is an action - your ability to take someone by the hand and show them the way and to be an example,” she said.

“It’s your ability to raise your voice and advocate for those who can’t advocate for themselves.It’s your ability to do something when everyone around you does nothing. It’s your ability to make a difference.”

Ms Keeling said she recently made the conscious decision to mentor men as well as women.

“That’s when I started to see changes in behaviour. Because these men start to experience the power of diversity through these mentoring relationships. They then go out and start to seek advice from a much wider pool of people.

“Then they’ll start questioning the make up of their teams and their hiring practices.”