Flying the flag for Lancashire’s air industry

Overseas embassies and consulates are flying the flag for Lancashire’s aerospace industry after a two-day visit to the county.
Typhoon in flightTyphoon in flight
Typhoon in flight

In a visit hosted by the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership and organised by the Government’s UK Trade and Investment department, the diplomats and civil servants learnt how the county’s aerospace industry is the strongest in the country.

The aim was to enable them to relay the “Lancashire – number one for aerospace” message to potential customers abroad and encourage foreign companies to invest in Lancashire.

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Lancashire has the largest concentration of aerospace production in the UK, employing over 12,700 people, and is part of a wider world class regional cluster accounting for more than a quarter of national production. Major employers in this sector are BAE Systems, Rolls Royce and Aircelle.

The delegates visited BAE Systems at the Lancashire Enterprise Zones’ Samlesbury site and learnt about the aerospace sector’s supply chain, the work of BAE and the Lancashire Enterprise Zone itself.

The University of Central Lancashire and Lancaster University also briefed the delegates. The Lancashire Skills Hub outlined ongoing programmes to ensure the workforce has the right skills for the sector while foreign-owned corporations like Safran Aircelle and Kama described their experience of the business environment.

An LEP spokesman said: “The visitors took away a clear understanding of the nature and scale of the aerospace sector in Lancashire.”