First Minister Rhodri Morgan visited the North East Wales base of Hawker Beechcraft, an aviation company which is flying high despite the current challenging economic climate.

The First Minister opened Hawker Beechcraft's new paint facility in Broughton, Flintshire.

Mr Morgan said: "This huge investment will create additional jobs and indirectly support service centre activities. This state-of-the-art facility incorporates the latest technology and processes to produce the highest quality product in the shortest possible time with the best value for the customer.

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"This one-stop shop maintenance and paint facility will be a unique selling point for Hawker Beechcraft in helping them to expand their offering and accelerate the company's growth.

"That is why it gives me so much pleasure to open Hawker Beechcraft's new paint facility because they are still investing and still expanding. At a time of challenging economic conditions, it is great to see that Hawker Beechcraft continue to see the advantages of growing their aircraft servicing facility in Broughton. The Broughton complex of Airbus plus Hawker Beechcraft is one of the world’s largest concentrations of aerospace engineering and technology expertise."

(CD/JM)