NMIS Boeing programme takes off from Westway Park, Renfrew
JLL lets 60,000 sq ft on behalf of Canmoor
The National Manufacturing Institute Scotland, has signed a lease with property investment firm Canmoor for a unit at Westway Park in Renfrew, part of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland. The facility will be primarily used for the Group’s £11.8 million research and development programme with the world’s largest aerospace company, Boeing.
The space, over 60,000 sq ft, will be refurbished to accommodate the personnel and equipment needed for the Boeing programme, It will also house other state-of-the-art advanced engineering equipment to be used in projects with other manufacturing businesses including a purpose built area dedicated to advancing the use of additive manufacturing in Scotland.
Speaking about the signing of the lease, Rob Large, director of Canmoor, said:
“This announcement is another significant milestone for Westway and we are delighted to be chosen as the base for this leading-edge facility.
"Westway has much to offer, in terms of strategic location and excellent facilities, plus our programme of on-going investment continues to make the park attractive to the Scottish manufacturing sector.”
Andrew McCracken, director of JLL, who advised Canmoor, added: “This deal spells positive news for Westway, one of the top performing industrial assets in the Scottish property market, which continues to generate interest from a wide range of occupiers.”
The Boeing programme, run by the University of Strathclyde’s Advanced Forming Research Centre (AFRC), part of the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland and the only High Value Manufacturing Catapult centre in Scotland, will see the company establish an R&D team at the Westway facility working with AFRC’s leading forming and forging technologists. Boeing has hired a team to work on the programme and it is expected that the personnel will be on site later this year.
The programme will demonstrate innovative manufacturing processes and technologies related to metallic components, building upon research previously conducted at the AFRC. Through these technologies and building capability in others, the team will be investigating reducing material wastage, possibilities to improve safety, productivity and environmental impact.
It is part funded by Scottish Enterprise with a contribution of £3.5 million to Boeing for the programme. This is one of the initial actions to come from the Boeing Scotland Alliance, which was set up between the two organisations to explore opportunities to work together in Scotland, with the aim of doubling Boeing’s supply chain in the country. This could be worth tens of millions of pounds to the Scottish economy and could see 200 new quality jobs created over the next five years.
About JLL
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