Aerospace company invests in the southeast

A SEEDA product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jun 26, 2007

The European Aeronautic, Defence and Space company (EADS) is establishing one of its new innovation centres in Portsmouth, where it already has a UK base for its subsidiary Astrium.

The South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) has welcomed a major new strategic investment in the region by EADS, the world's second largest aerospace and defence group.

The European Aeronautic, Defence and Space company (EADS) is establishing one of its new innovation centres in Portsmouth, where it already has a UK base for its subsidiary Astrium.

The investment is part of an important new programme, Innovation Works, which aims to develop the group's technological innovation capacity in the UK through closer links with government, universities and business.

To support the development of Innovation Works UK, EADS will establish a research foundation to encourage technology initiatives.

SEEDA is a signatory to a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create the foundation, together with the Welsh Assembly government, the South West of England Development Agency, and the Universities of Southampton, Cardiff and Bristol.

In addition to the new Innovation Works centre in Portsmouth, there will also be centres in Bristol and Newport.

Together the south of England and Wales provide a world-class research and development base ideally suited to global technology businesses such as EADS, as each region already has a major concentration of RandD activity.

The South East in particular has a strong focus on the ICT and security industries, centred on the Thames Valley and Hampshire.

A partnership between SEEDA, UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and the Farnborough Aerospace Consortium (FAC) helped to secure this major new investment by EADS by highlighting the South East's key strengths, in particular its research and skills base making it the optimum location for EADS Innovation Works.

The region already has a globally significant cluster of high technology businesses, including most of the world's key players in defence and aerospace engineering and RandD.

EADS Chief Technology Officer, Dr Jean Botti, commented: "We strongly believe that technological co-operation between business, academia and government put into practice by Innovation Works is the best way to harness talent and inspire us all to future success".

SEEDA Director for Trade and Inward Investment, Lewis Scott, commented: "The decision by EADS to further invest in the South East of England will not only improve the group's science base but will also increase the research opportunities for the region's supply chain and increase their competitiveness to win new business in this highly competitive global market".

With a worldwide workforce of some 116,000, generating revenues of almost Eur 40 billion, the EADS group includes Airbus, the aircraft manufacturer, and Astrium, whose space programmes include Ariane and Galileo.

It is also the major partner in the Eurofighter consortium.