Boulton Paul factory sold
Wolverhampton's historic Boulton Paul factory has been bought by an American engineering firm in a multi-million pound deal, it was revealed this afternoon.
Wolverhampton's historic Boulton Paul factory has been bought by an American engineering firm in a multi-million pound deal, it was revealed this afternoon.
The GE Aviation factory on Wobaston Road, Fordhouses, employs about 470 people making flight controls for aircraft, including the new RAF Typhoon jet fighter.
It is being sold to Moog, a £1 billion precision engineering firm making controls and systems for aircraft, missiles, satellites and space vehicles as well as industrial and medical equipment.
New York-based Moog says work at Wolverhampton, which saw sales of about £60 million last year, is a good fit with its own aircraft controls segment.
The Wolverhampton factory, currently part of the aviation arm of US conglomerate General Electric, this year announced 12 voluntary redundancies after a slowdown. Flight controls made in the city are used for the Boeing 777 and 787 and the Airbus A330 and A380.
Staff also make the main engine lift system for the Rolls-Royce engine on the short take-off and vertical landing version of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
Moog and General Electric said paperwork is drawn up for the takeover and a sale agreement was expected to be signed "very shortly".
Moog is paying cash but a figure has not been revealed.
The factory was bought by General Electric two years ago as part of the £2.4 billion takeover of Smiths Aerospace - ending 72 years of British site ownership.
It was originally run by Boulton Paul Aircraft, who brought 600 workers and their families from the firm's original home in Norfolk in 1934.
In the war it made gun turrets for bombers and the Boulton Paul Defiant fighter. Dowty bought the firm in 1961, later becoming part of the TI Group. It became Smiths Aircraft Actuation Systems in 2001.