Regional Report: North West well-placed to deliver new era of flight

The North West of England has been a powerhouse of industry and global trade for almost 200 years. A region synonymous with entrepreneurship, invention and ‘hard graft, the North West is the birthplace of engineering marvels such as the spinning jenny, the programmable computer, graphene and polyethylene. Indeed, the assembly line at the Bridgewater Foundry in Salford is the blueprint for how factories are laid out centuries later.

The region may have lost its position as the historic centre of world textiles production, but the North West has built an equal reputation in aerospace. Today, the North West aerospace cluster is one of the largest in Europe and sits at the vanguard of nearly all major aviation advancements, from lightweighting and green fuels to next-gen fighter jets, drones and cutting-edge production methods.

“Places like Lancashire and Manchester were the engine room of the Industrial Revolution which changed the face of the UK economy forever,” said Ian Muldowney, Chief Operating Officer for BAE Systems Air.