Electroimpact, a designer and manufacturer of a range of highly specialized aircraft assembly equipment used in the production of the 853-seat, double-deck A380 superjumbo and other Airbus aircraft, has expanded its facility in Wales.

Electroimpact's equipment designs, manufactures and installs the electromagnetic automatic wing riveting machines and wing panel assembly systems.

The wing assembly rigs are also used on the Airbus A400M military turboprop range.

The riveting machines, weighing up to 170 tons, are designed, built and tested in the United States and then shipped to the UK, where they are reassembled at Airbus sites in Broughton, Flintshire, Filton and Bristol.

Electroimpact opened a facility in Wales in 2002 to provide a 24/7 engineering support and maintenance service for the systems installed at Broughton.

The company has recently expanded to meet the increased demand for its services and moved from Hawarden to larger premises on Pentre Industrial Estate, Deeside, where it now occupies 10,500 square feet of workspace and office accommodations.

Its expansion, supported by the Welsh Assembly Government with grant aid, has created 22 highly skilled jobs in mechanical, electrical and control engineering, virtually doubling the work force.

The company has a staff of about 55. Individual engineers work on all aspects of a project, from initial development to writing the health and safety manual.

Andrew Davies, Minister for Enterprise Innovation and Networks, said the undisclosed investment demonstrated both confidence and commitment from the U.S. parent company.

“This is an excellent project for Wales with the potential that some of the design and build function could be undertaken here in the future making Wales a center of excellence and a hub for Electroimpact's European operations,” he said.

Seattle-based Electroimpact has 250 employees worldwide, including in Washington state and Israel.

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