Boeing investing $36 million in Winnipeg facility for projects, research

Aerospace company Boeing is committing $36 million to its Winnipeg facility for projects and R&D.

Winnipeg’s Boeing facility is receiving a large influx of cash from the company, which will be used for composite aerospace manufacturing as well as research and development projects.

Boeing announced Friday it is investing $36 million into the Winnipeg facility, which will go toward projects linked to the National Research Council of Canada, as well as the development of robotics over 10 years.

“Boeing’s Winnipeg site, the country’s largest aerospace composite manufacturing facility, has been a key contributor to Canada’s aviation sector for over 50 years, and this initiative reflects our dedication to the local economy and positions us to meet the growing demand for our airplanes,” said Al Meinzinger, the president of Boeing Canada.

Meinzinger said this financial commitment is in lockstep with the recent selection of Boeing’s CP8A Poseidon aircraft by the Government of Canada to be used as the official multi-mission aircraft.

Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham said an investment like this will help Winnipeg continue to grow and work with the Canadian Armed Forces.

“What I don’t think we’ve done enough of in Winnipeg is see the Canadian Forces as a key economic engine of this city,” said Gillingham. “We see it as Canadian Armed Forces, men and women serving our nation, but they’re critical to Winnipeg’s economy as well. So when we talk about aviation, aerospace and defence, a sky economy, it’s all of that. We need to work to continue to build, to foster and to strengthen in preparation.”

While helping to create parts for contracts like the Poseidon, the money will also be used to increase automation at the facility, which in turn would help technicians complete their projects.

“We produce complex composites with a very complex production system. In that production system, there’s specific areas where we can insert automated technologies to assist our technicians,” said Matt Baxter, an engineering senior manager at the plant. “So this funding would be going towards the development work on that automation, automated production systems and looking at how we would introduce those.”

Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew called the announcement exciting, stating it will bring new investment to the workforce and make the facility, city and province a more attractive place to be.

He added the province is also well positioned for future announcements regarding Canada’s military that will be coming from the federal government in the future.

“People across the country know that the federal government is looking for fighter jets, looking for other military vessels,” said Kinew. “We should be aware that each and every one of those choices the federal government makes is going to bring a lot of private sector investment along with it, both for the fabrication of planes and vessels, but also for the maintenance. And when you have an aerospace sector like ours, with Boeing and with all the other companies who are really clustered around Winnipeg’s airport, you’re going to see a lot of other investments come alongside that.”

Ben Carr, the MP for Winnipeg South Centre, said these types of investments show Winnipeg and Manitoba are able to continue momentum in the aerospace industry, which can bring more opportunities to the area.

“As we continue to show that our industry here is capable of delivering, it sends a signal to others that as investments that the federal government is making in our defence industrial strategy continue to flourish, that Winnipeg and Manitoba are places that companies can turn to and that the spinoff effects of these massive, important contracts for our defence can have a home in Winnipeg,” said Carr.

The work being done on the CP8A Poseidon program across the country will create around 3,000 jobs and add $358 million to Canada’s economy every year for the next decade, Boeing said.