The Kilkeel company will supply its Vantage business class seat to Swiss International Airlines for use in the new Airbus A330 aircraft in 2009. The seat was developed with the help of R&D support from Invest Northern Ireland.
Welcoming the deal, the Minister said: “I commend Thompson Solutions on securing yet another major export deal with a prestigious international airline. The global aerospace market is currently growing year on year and this is presenting significant export opportunities for suppliers in the vibrant local aerospace sector.
“Drawing from a strong talent pool and with a long-standing commitment to innovation and technical excellence, Thompson Solutions is an outstanding example to other local patent holding and design engineering manufacturers. Its ongoing relationship with Invest NI has also been instrumental in developing its leading edge products.
“I wish the company every success in fulfilling its orders with Swiss International and look forward to seeing the benefits to the local economy as a whole.”
James Thompson, President of Thompson Solutions, said: “Our product has been selected ahead of competing products from all other established seat manufacturers, which is testimony that Thompson products are trend-setting in offering both increased comfort to passengers and increased profitability to airlines.
“We are also delighted for our workforce as it is further evidence of the faith that some of the world’s leading airlines are placing with the highly skilled and capable team we are building in Kilkeel.”
Notes to Editors:
- Thompson Solutions will supply its Vantage business class seat to Swiss International Airlines for use in new Airbus A330 aircraft in 2009. The seats will then be installed onto the airline’s existing Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft.
- Invest NI has offered ongoing R&D support to Thompson Solutions for the development of business class and economy class aircraft seats.
- More information is available on the Thompson Solutions website
- For media enquiries, please contact DETI Press Office on 028 9052 9297. Outside office hours, please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.
