The former Boeing site at Bankstown Airport will be taken over by Perth manufacturer Quickstep, and is likely to inject more than half a billion dollars and lead to the creation of up to 400 jobs.
At an announcement ceremony, minister for defence materiel Jason Clare said $10 million in assistance from the Federal Government had helped lure Quickstep to Bankstown.
The site will be used to manufacture and support various Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) parts.
Quickstep has signed a Long Term Agreement with Northrop Grumman – one of the major multi-national defence companies building the JSF.
“That’s terrific news for Bankstown,” Clare said.
“Around 3,000 of these planes are expected to be built over the next 20 years and Quickstep plans to build parts for many of them.”
The Long Term Agreement is a binding agreement under which individual contracts are awarded for different components of the JSF.
The agreement now means Quickstep is in a position to secure up to $580 million worth of work over the next 20 years, building:
• access panels;
• fuel tank covers;
• aircraft skins; and
• in-board weapons bay doors.
Quickstep’s CEO, Philippe Odouard, said the move to Bankstown provided the company with a long-term lease over a manufacturing facility that offered the scale, resources and utilities needed to undertake large-scale JSF manufacturing.
“We are delighted to have secured this facility at Bankstown Airport, which has established aerospace manufacturing capabilities in place and access to a highly-skilled workforce,” Odouard said.
“The NSW Government has provided invaluable assistance to facilitate this move and we are extremely pleased to be working with them to ensure the State’s proud reputation for aerospace manufacturing continues long into the future.”
Quickstep has also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Marand Precision Engineering to supply composite vertical tail skins for the JSF.
Mr Clare said this agreement built on others being made to secure work for Australian companies.
“I’m also happy to announce that I recently signed a Global Supply Deed with Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor on the JSF project,” Clare said.
“Under the agreement Lockheed Martin will put in place a team of people dedicated to finding opportunities for Australian companies on top of the JSF project.”