#st athan

Jet2 (LS/EXS), the last British passenger operator of the Boeing 757, has begin retirement of the mid-range twin-jet as deliveries of the A321neo continue. The airline has operated the workhorse airliner on holiday routes from the UK with a peak of 13 757s in its fleet. But with an average age of 33.1 years old, the aircraft are being replaced by newer more fuel efficient aircraft. Many of…

The 90-acre, former Ministry of Defence site at St Athan in Wales was announced as the second UK plant for Aston Martin Lagonda in early 2016 and since then the whole site, including three ‘Super Hangars’, has been transformed into a modern manufacturing facility for our hand-crafted British cars.

Forming part of Aston Martin’s continued investment in the UK, the opening of St Athan has so far created 200 jobs and is expected to create up to 550 more. Also, as a direct result of this investment a further 3,000 jobs will likely be created across the supply chain and local businesses.

St Athan will be the sole production facility for the Aston Martin DBX, the brand’s first SUV, which has been created for this fast-growing segment of the luxury market. Last year, it was also named as Aston Martin Lagonda’s “Home of Electrification” and the manufacturing home of the Lagonda brand.

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Real world testing of the DBX, which began appropriately in the Welsh countryside last year, continues apace. The luxury SUV will be equally at home in an urban environment as it is off-road in less welcoming terrain. Over the last few months the DBX has been put through its paces in all environments from the Arctic Circle to the unique challenges of the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

Aston Martin Lagonda President and Group Chief Executive Officer, Andy Palmer said:

This is an exciting time for Aston Martin Lagonda. Our second luxury manufacturing facility is now producing cars and is ready to go into full production in H1 2020. Our facilities and manufacturing teams, led by VP and Chief Manufacturing Operations Officer Keith Stanton have done an outstanding job in getting the factory ready almost a year before full production starts, on time and on budget.

The Aston Martin DBX will be unveiled at the end of 2019.

 Note: Press release courtesy of Aston Martin.

Already home to some 100 employees, St Athan is nearing completion with the Paint Shop fully installed and construction of the production line well underway. Once fully commissioned early in the first quarter of 2019, when production of the next phase of prototype models will commence, the workforce will be boosted to nearer 200. Over 70 Welsh employees are set to join the St Athan team having spent the last two-and-a-half years at Aston Martin Lagonda’s Gaydon Headquarters learning the Aston Martin way.

This core group of experts will train new employees at the St Athan plant. They’re sure to be busy with the workforce steadily increasing during the first half of 2019, then increasing rapidly to more than 700 by the first quarter of 2020 as DBX production ramps-up.

Dr Andy Palmer, Aston Martin Lagonda President and Group Chief Executive Officer said:

As the St Athan facility nears completion, there is a very real sense this is the start of a bold new era for Aston Martin Lagonda. A second production facility is a critical step in delivering our Second Century Plan. The St Athan facility will initially commence with the production of our first SUV but will ultimately be a global centre of excellence for the production of luxury high performance EVs, including Lagonda: the world’s first luxury electric automotive brand.

Those interested in seeing the St Athan plant can take a “video tour” of the new production facility for a fascinating behind-closed-doors glimpse of the factory as it enters its final completion phase.

Note: Press release courtesy of Aston Martin Lagonda.

St Athan Confirmed as Home for Aston Martin Electrification

Aston Martin announced today that its second major UK manufacturing facility will become the brand’s center for electrification and the production home of the Lagonda brand, the world’s first zero-emission luxury marque.

The Rapide E will be built in Wales when production commences in 2019. Aston Martin’s first all-electric production model creates a highly-desirable electric vehicle with the…

Aston Martin St Athan Second Phase Complete

Aston Martin, the producer of highly desirable luxury handcrafted sports cars, today announced it has completed the second phase of its new car assembly plant at St Athan, in South Wales.

Aston Martin’s Board of Directors held their first meeting in St Athan to mark the completion of building work at the facility, which involves the conversion of three super hangars at the former Ministry of…

Phase II, which commenced in April 2017, will see the three super hangars redeveloped into a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility with Aston Martin’s SUV due to start production in 2019.

The new plant brings employment opportunities to South Wales with up to 750 new roles being created, a series of recruitment events held in the region has attracted more than 3,000 applications.  The first technicians have already been recruited and are working on the DB11 at the marques Gaydon Headquarters, training for the highly-skilled roles they will take up at St Athan.

Aston Martin President and Chief Executive Officer Andy Palmer commented:

The St Athan facility is really starting to take shape.  With the completion of this first phase, it is another milestone on our journey in Wales, and an important part of Aston Martin’s Second Century Plan.  Work is also well underway on phase II, the rest of the Aston Martin team and I are excited for when St Athan joins our Gaydon and Newport Pagnell facilities as a centre of hand-crafted manufacturing excellence.

In February 2016, Aston Martin announced that it had chosen St Athan from 20 potential global locations as its third manufacturing facility.  Its Gaydon Headquarters were confirmed as the home of its sports cars, with historical Newport Pagnell becoming its second manufacturing facility with production returning to the site with the build of the track-only DB4 GT Continuation.

Economy Secretary Ken Skates said:

It is great to hear that work on phase I of Aston Martin’s facility in St Athan is now complete and that phase II is progressing well. Like many people in Wales, I am genuinely excited about Aston Martin beginning production here in Wales next year and the high number of quality direct and indirect jobs that it will bring with it.

Aston Martin’s decision to move to St Athan is a huge coup for Wales and it is a genuine testament to the can-do attitude of Welsh Government, and to the reputation, dedication and skills of our work force.

Note: Press release courtesy of Aston Martin.

Work begins on Aston Martin Super Hangars in St Athan

Aston Martin has announced local firm TRJ Ltd as the selected construction partner for ‘Phase 2’ of the conversion contract at the St Athan manufacturing facility. Work is already underway at St Athan and will focus on turning the three ‘Super Hangars’ into an Aston Martin manufacturing facility.

This contract was formally advertised through the Welsh Government’s Sell 2 Wales site, receiving…