RABAT, Morocco--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Moroccan Minister of Industry and Trade, Moulay Hafid Elalamy, signed on Wednesday in London, two investment agreements with Aerolia (www.aerolia.com), a subsidiary of Airbus group, and with Alcoa (www.alcoa.com) , a world leader in lightweight metals technology and aluminum production.
The two agreements worth a € 45 million investment are expected to generate about 750 direct jobs.
Both agreements were signed on the sidelines of the Farnborough Air Show ((http://www.farnborough.com/), which opened on July 14 in the suburbs of the British capital.
Over the past decade, the aeronautics sector in Morocco has witnessed a remarkable development and the North African country is currently manufacturing and supplying parts for Airbus, Boeing, and Dassault Aviation. The Canadian aircraft manufacturer, Bombardier, has on its part set up a factory in the Casablanca industrial zone last year.
The aeronautics sector in Morocco currently employs some 10,000 people and represents nearly 5% of the country’s overall exports with a turnover of around € 800 million.
Aerolia, which has been EN9100- and ISO14001-certified since January 2009, has recorded a strong growth of 75% in 5 years, with a turnover of $1.5 billion. To support its business growth and increase production rates, the Airbus Group subsidiary decided to set up a second competitive cluster in Morocco and develop a local, integrated supply chain model.
Under the agreement signed in London, Aerolia, will inject a € 40 million worth investment in its Casablanca unit and is expected to create, in a first phase, 500 jobs and an additional 500 indirect jobs. The unit will principally focus on the assembly of large subassemblies and complex aerostructures.
The second agreement signed with Alcoa Aerospace provides for the increase of its industrial activities in Morocco. The company has 200 locations in 31 countries and employs some 61,000 people. In 2009, Alcoa Group bought the company Demicron, located in the industrial park of Bouskoura near Casablanca, and established there its AFS (Alcoa Fastening Systems) department.
Under the agreement terms signed with Morocco, the Alcoa group will invest some € 4.6 million in the new Casablanca facility that will employ 250 persons.
The group, initially dedicated to manufacturing precision tools, has reoriented its activity towards the manufacturing of fastening systems for the aerospace industry.