Rescue bid mounted for Ulster Aerospace firm

A rescue bid to save the troubled aerospace plant run by B/E Aerospace and 320 jobs in Kilkeel has been put together by trade groups in Northern Ireland.

The package proposed by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment and the IDB was to be put before the B/E Aerospace board in Florida on Wednesday in an attempt to keep the US-based firm’s plant in Kilkeel open. However, details of the package are under wraps as the situation would involve US plants earmarked for closure, and possible moves by US States attempting to keep plants open.

On Tuesday, B/E Aerospace stated that “consistent with changed conditions in the airline industry” in a cost saving structural re-alignment of the company’s operations worldwide, five of B/E’s 16 main plants would be closed and around 1,000 of the firm’s current 4,650 employees would be made redundant.

President and Chief Executive Officer of B/E Aerospace, Robert J. Khoury, said: "The U.S. airline industry is experiencing severe financial stress in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks. As expected, our airline customers have implemented stringent cash conservation measures. This has significantly reduced demand for our aircraft cabin interior products, necessitating the actions”.

Before the September 11 terrorist attacks on The US, B/E was on track to generate sales of about $450 million, but B/E downwardly revised these expectations for the second half-year to February 2002, to sales of $340 million with break-even net earnings excluding charges for the planned restructuring.

"The actions we announced are painful, affecting employees and their families," added Mr Khoury. "Regrettably, these actions are necessary to ensure B/E's viability in the adverse conditions which now dominate our industry.

"Our airline customers are facing an unprecedented situation. Air travel is down dramatically in the wake of the September 11 attacks. In response, U.S. airlines have reduced scheduled flights, taken about 20 percent of their aircraft out of service and announced workforce reductions which will likely involve more than 100,000 workers.”

B/E Aerospace, one of the world's leading manufacturers of aircraft cabin interior products, serves many of the world's airlines and aircraft manufacturers.

The company produces a broad range of passenger cabin interior products for both commercial and business aircraft, providing interior design, reconfiguration and conversion services to customers throughout the world. (SP)