Queen to open Jaguar Land Rover engine factory
The Queen will officially open the new £500 million Jaguar Land Rover engine factory in the region next week.
Her Majesty will be accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh for the visit to the factory, off the M54. It is the crowning glory after the region secured the engine plant against fierce competition both at home and from abroad.
The visit to the i54 business park takes place next Thursday. Managers were today telling staff the good news.
After cutting the ribbon at the JLR Engine Manufacturing Centre, the Queen and the Duke will attend a lunch at the plant.
It will be the Queen's first visit to the area since her Diamond Jubilee two years ago, when 30,000 people flocked to RAF Cosford.
JLR has long links with the monarchy. Both Jaguar and Land Rover have held Royal Warrants since 1951 and the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh are known to favour JLR's Range Rovers and Defenders.
The company first announced it would be building its engine plant at the business park, just outside Wolverhampton, in 2011 and work began on the site the following year.
Gavin Williamson, Conservative MP for south Staffordshire, said the investment in the JLR site was vital "not just to south Staffordshire, Wolverhampton and the wider West Midlands but to the country as well".
He added: "This represents high quality British manufacturing, exported all over the world, following half a billion pounds' worth of investment and hundreds of new jobs."
JLR was tempted to the i54 site after a concerted charm offensive mounted by local councils, supported by the UK government.
Business secretary Vince Cable, during a recent visit to the Midlands, said he considered bringing the company to the region was one of the biggest single achievements of his five-year term in office.
The 775,000 sq ft factory, the size of eight football pitches, will eventually provide work for 1,600 people.
A hall for the manufacture of engine components and an assembly hall to put together new Ingenium diesel engines are complete. They are gearing up for full-scale production early next year, tied in to production of the new Jaguar XE saloon. Meanwhile, work on a 250,000 sq ft petrol engine assembly hall is also under way.
