France-based aircraft manufacturer Airbus S.A.S. has announced plans to break ground on a new $600 million manufacturing plant in Mobile, Alabama on 8 April 2013.
The proposed manufacturing plant at the Brookley Aeroplex, a former military airfield adjacent to Mobile Bay, in Mobile and will be the company first US-based production facility. The new facility will assemble the family of A319, A320 and A321 single-aisle planes.
The new plant will have a capacity to manufacture four planes per month. The facility is expected to commence production operations in 2016. Airbus anticipates the facility will produce between 40 and 50 aircraft per year by 2018.
The new Mobile assembly line, together with associated functions, is expected to create approximately 1,000 new high-skilled jobs in the region.
Airbus offers a wide variety of airliners on the market, ranging in capacity from 100 to more than 500 seats. The company has sold over 11,500 Airbus aircraft to more than 470 customers and operators worldwide. Airbus operates as a subsidiary of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company EADS NV.