Boeing has delivered its first 787 Dreamliner with parts produced in the UAE by Strata Manufacturing.
Strata, which is wholly owned by Mubadala, manufactured vertical fin ribs for the Dreamliner delivered to Etihad Airways.
Strata has been producing advanced composite components for Boeing’s 777 and 787 models. Based in a purpose-built, 21,600 square metre factory at the Nibras Al Ain Aerospace Park in Al Ain since 2010, the company is also a major supplier to Airbus.
“Having more skilled, capable suppliers of advanced aerospace composite parts is crucial to meeting market demand in the future,” said Kent Fisher, a vice president at Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
“Strata’s production of 787 composites for Boeing is a significant achievement in our effort to continue building a supply chain for our products.”
Badr Al Olama, Strata’s chief executive, said the delivery of aircraft parts that were “made in the UAE, for the UAE” was a “major accomplishment for Abu Dhabi’s aerospace industry”.
Boeing and Mubadala have signed a number of agreements over the past six years, including a deal in 2013 that gives Mubadala the opportunity to supply up to US$2.5 billion of parts for commercial aircraft.
Mubadala has developed similar partnerships with Airbus and Rolls-Royce in an attempt to boost its share of an aerospace market that is growing rapidly.
Boeing last year said it was expecting nearly 37,000 new aircraft to be ordered over the next 20 years with an anticipated value of $5.2 trillion.
Separately, Boeing and Tawazun Precision Industries broke ground this week on a new aerospace surface treatment facility for metallic parts in Abu Dhabi.
The facility, the first in the Arabian Gulf, will start operation next year.
“The project will create high-value jobs in the UAE and give Tawazun the opportunity to produce complex metallic assemblies for Boeing, its suppliers and other aerospace original equipment manufacturers around the world,” said the two companies.
mfahy@thenational.ae
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