Winnipeg Bristol Aerospace plant gets $120M boost
The federal government and parent company Magellan Aerospace will spend up to $120 million on a new program at Winnipeg's Bristol Aerospace that will put the plant on the "cutting edge of research, innovation, education and skills training," it was announced Monday.
Up to $120 million — including $43.4 million in federal "repayable investments" — will be spent over five to seven years to support the joint strike fighter program, which will help develop an F-35 stealth fighter aircraft in collaboration with nine other countries.
"We'll be manufacturing components. We've defined our core area here of expertise [as] advanced composites and advanced complex metallic structure utilizing aluminium, titanium and composite fabrication, so these are quite complex assemblies and parts that will be fed into the assembly line," said Dan Boitson, vice-president and general manager of Bristol Aerspace, which employs about 600.
The program may not mean new jobs at the plant immediately, Boitson said, but he expects new employment opportunities within the decade.
"Right now it will be retraining and educating the personnel regarding this new technology, and certainly as our other programs evolve from this one … that's the time period when we see some potential employment upswings as well," he said.
Treasury Board president and Manitoba MP Vic Toews, who attended the announcement Tuesday in Winnipeg on behalf of Industry Minister Jim Prentice, said the program will mean a 25-year commitment for Bristol, and will put Manitoba on the "cutting edge of research, innovation, education and skills training.
"This means long-term development of this project, and also the maintenance of high paying and technologically sophisticated work, so it's a great day for Winnipeg," he said.
The federal money is being provided by the strategic aerospace and defence initiative, which supports research and development in the aerospace, defence, space and security industries.
The deal could generate up to $3 billion in revenue over the next three decades, officials said.
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