Boeing unmanned aircraft facility to create 300 jobs at Wellcamp
Aircraft giant Boeing will build an Australia-first unmanned aircraft facility at Wellcamp, creating up to 300 jobs for the Toowoomba region.
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Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced an advanced manufacturing facility planned for Toowoomba at Wellcamp.
The facility will develop unmanned aircraft for Australian and allied defence industries and create 300 jobs, including 70 operational jobs at the Wellcamp facility.
Ms Palaszczuk said it was the first time Boeing was setting up a facility of its kind outside of North America.
“This is not just a Queensland first, but an Australian first,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
The Premier said the reason the state could make announcements and deliver projects was because of the strong health response.
“We welcome and look forward to diversifying our economy and that we can have opportunities like this,” she said.
John Wagner, director of Wagner Corporation which established the Wellcamp Airport, was at the conference to announce the launch of the Wellcamp Airspace and Defence Precinct.
Mr Wagner wished to thank the Queensland Government and Boeing for reaching the agreement to establish the company’s first world-class assembly line in 92 years.
“We believe this announcement with Boeing will be the first of many for defence and space companies to move to this great city of Toowoomba,” Mr Wagner said.
Scott Carpendale from Boeing Australia said the company was working with the federal government through the design, test and certification stage and that he was confident about the future production phase.
Mr Carpendale said the company will need a production facility by the middle of the decade.
He said the facility would help develop the uncrewed aircraft which will operate in a teaming capacity with existing crewed aircraft to expand on defence capability by leveraging the uncrewed capacity.
Mr Carpendale said it was inspiring for the Australian branch of the company and its engineers and staff to be part of the key moment.
He said the company intends to export the product globally and there has been significant interest locally and globally.
“It was always going to be a platform that was designed and developed here in Australia but marketed for its exportability,” he said.
Mr Carpendale said it has been an Australian project since day one.
“This aircraft was designed, developed, conceived, and built in Australia,” he said.
He said Boeing Australia was working closely with the Australian Defence Force through the process and that this would not be a one-off order but an ongoing development.
A presentation by Wellcamp said the precinct will become a global leader in aeronautical innovation shaping future defence capabilities.
The facility aims to be one of the most sustainable and energy efficient precincts globally.
Mr Wagner said he hoped the facility will become an ecosystem for Aerospace and Defence globally.
“We hope it will be the epicentre for development, advanced manufacturing, R&D and education globally,” Mr Wagner said.
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