J&P Group has been awarded a £1m+ contract by Airbus to undertake a refit of one of the key production lines at the wing manufacturing facility in Broughton, North Wales.

The Broughton plant produces wings for all Airbus variants, including the new A380 super jumbo. It employs 6,500 people and is the region’s largest employer. Aircraft wings are manufactured from aluminium billets that arrive in lengths of up to 31 metres and which can weigh up to 3.5 tonnes. Milling the billets into wing panels can take up to 50 hours using some of the largest CNC milling machines in Europe.

The contract will entail the removal and transfer of one of the 30 tonne skin milling machines to one of J&P Group’s dedicated engineering facilities where it will undergo an extensive refurbishment. The machine has been in service at the Broughton plant for over 20 years and the contract therefore requires J&P Group to replace all obsolete components including the machine control, axis drives, spindle and toolchanger systems, 

On announcing the contract award, J&P Group Managing Director, John Begley commented: ‘J&P Group has been instrumental in developing and implementing maintenance strategies for a growing number of the Airbus milling machines in recent years. The award of this contract from Airbus is a testament to the dedication and skills of our workforce.’ In addition to its core engineering services division, J&P Group also provides a range of expert services that include spares asset management, facilities management, supply chain management, procurement, warehousing & distribution and consultancy services.
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