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Spirit AeroSystems
Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. is an American manufacturer of aerostructures for commercial airplanes, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, and wholly owned by Boeing. The company produces fuselage sections for Boeing's 737 and 787 aircraft, as well as the flight deck sections for a majority of Boeing airliners. Spirit also supplies Airbus with fuselage sections and front wing spars for the A350 and wings for the A220. Spirit's primary competitors in the aerostructures market include Collins Aerospace, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Leonardo, and Triumph Group.
Spirit AeroSystems was established in 2005 when Boeing spun-off its Wichita division to an investment firm. Boeing entered into an agreement to re-acquire Spirit in July 2024 for $4.7 billion. Concurrently with Boeing’s completed acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems, Spirit has transferred specific assets involved in Airbus production directly to Airbus under a definitive agreement announced in April 2025. As of December 2025, both transactions received the necessary regulatory approvals and closing conditions have been satisfied.
Spirit was originally formed as Mid-Western Aircraft Systems when Boeing sold its Wichita factory along with facilities in Tulsa, Oklahoma and McAlester, Oklahoma to the investment firm Onex Corporation in June 2005 for US$900 million in cash and the assumption of $300 million in debt, a total of $1.2 billion in enterprise value. The company was renamed Spirit AeroSystems a few months later. The sale was part of a larger effort of Boeing to divest itself of assets, in pursuit of increased return on net assets, a metric focused on by CEO Harry Stonecipher, who had come from McDonnell Douglas.
The Wichita plant was originally founded as Stearman Aircraft in 1927 before being acquired by the United Aircraft and Transport Corporation (UATC) in 1929. Following the breakup of UATC in 1934, the plant was retained by Boeing and became the Wichita division of the Boeing Airplane Company in 1941. The Wichita division was responsible for the construction of several models of strategic bomber aircraft including the B-29 Superfortress, B-47 Stratojet, and B-52 Stratofortress. The Wichita factory primarily builds fuselage sections, including 70% of the structure for the Boeing 737.
The Tulsa plant was originally opened as a Douglas Aircraft Company facility to build bombers and other aircraft during World War II. When the war ended, Douglas mothballed the plant until 1953 when it reopened to assemble the B-47 StratoJet and the B-66 Destroyer. North American Aviation moved into about a third of the facility in 1962. The Tulsa plant builds wings and components for Boeing aircraft.
The McAlester factory opened in 1964 as North American Aviation facility, supported the company's Apollo capsule and B-1B Bomber projects, primarily focusing on machining operations in support of the Tulsa factory.
Over time North American and Douglas would both become part of Boeing, which took control of both Oklahoma factories in 1996. Operationally, they were wrapped into the Wichita division. However, Boeing long expressed interest in selling the Oklahoma factories. When they were spun-off to Spirit, again talks were held about selling the Oklahoma plants. However, nothing came of these talks. In 2020, Spirit announced it would close its McAlester plant, moving work to Tulsa and Wichita.
Under Onex ownership, Spirit's mandate was to build a portfolio of business with customers other than Boeing. In January 31, 2006, BAE Systems announced it had agreed to sell its aerostructures business, based at Glasgow Prestwick Airport and Samlesbury Aerodrome, to Spirit. The unit is a major supplier to Airbus (80%), Boeing (15%) and Raytheon (5%). The transaction was completed on April 1, 2006. Spirit paid £80,000,000 (equivalent to £141,473,912 in 2025) for the business. In 2009, Spirit opened a plant in Subang, Malaysia out of a need for expansion and to take pressure off the Prestwick facility. Spirit opened a composites manufacturing facility in Kinston, North Carolina on July 1, 2010, to build sections of the Airbus A350. Those sections are then sent to another Spirit plant in Saint-Nazaire, France, where they are partially assembled before being sent on to Airbus in Toulouse for final assembly. During this time, Spirit also won the contract to build the wings for the Gulfstream G280 and G650.
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Spirit AeroSystems
Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. is an American manufacturer of aerostructures for commercial airplanes, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas, and wholly owned by Boeing. The company produces fuselage sections for Boeing's 737 and 787 aircraft, as well as the flight deck sections for a majority of Boeing airliners. Spirit also supplies Airbus with fuselage sections and front wing spars for the A350 and wings for the A220. Spirit's primary competitors in the aerostructures market include Collins Aerospace, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Leonardo, and Triumph Group.
Spirit AeroSystems was established in 2005 when Boeing spun-off its Wichita division to an investment firm. Boeing entered into an agreement to re-acquire Spirit in July 2024 for $4.7 billion. Concurrently with Boeing’s completed acquisition of Spirit AeroSystems, Spirit has transferred specific assets involved in Airbus production directly to Airbus under a definitive agreement announced in April 2025. As of December 2025, both transactions received the necessary regulatory approvals and closing conditions have been satisfied.
Spirit was originally formed as Mid-Western Aircraft Systems when Boeing sold its Wichita factory along with facilities in Tulsa, Oklahoma and McAlester, Oklahoma to the investment firm Onex Corporation in June 2005 for US$900 million in cash and the assumption of $300 million in debt, a total of $1.2 billion in enterprise value. The company was renamed Spirit AeroSystems a few months later. The sale was part of a larger effort of Boeing to divest itself of assets, in pursuit of increased return on net assets, a metric focused on by CEO Harry Stonecipher, who had come from McDonnell Douglas.
The Wichita plant was originally founded as Stearman Aircraft in 1927 before being acquired by the United Aircraft and Transport Corporation (UATC) in 1929. Following the breakup of UATC in 1934, the plant was retained by Boeing and became the Wichita division of the Boeing Airplane Company in 1941. The Wichita division was responsible for the construction of several models of strategic bomber aircraft including the B-29 Superfortress, B-47 Stratojet, and B-52 Stratofortress. The Wichita factory primarily builds fuselage sections, including 70% of the structure for the Boeing 737.
The Tulsa plant was originally opened as a Douglas Aircraft Company facility to build bombers and other aircraft during World War II. When the war ended, Douglas mothballed the plant until 1953 when it reopened to assemble the B-47 StratoJet and the B-66 Destroyer. North American Aviation moved into about a third of the facility in 1962. The Tulsa plant builds wings and components for Boeing aircraft.
The McAlester factory opened in 1964 as North American Aviation facility, supported the company's Apollo capsule and B-1B Bomber projects, primarily focusing on machining operations in support of the Tulsa factory.
Over time North American and Douglas would both become part of Boeing, which took control of both Oklahoma factories in 1996. Operationally, they were wrapped into the Wichita division. However, Boeing long expressed interest in selling the Oklahoma factories. When they were spun-off to Spirit, again talks were held about selling the Oklahoma plants. However, nothing came of these talks. In 2020, Spirit announced it would close its McAlester plant, moving work to Tulsa and Wichita.
Under Onex ownership, Spirit's mandate was to build a portfolio of business with customers other than Boeing. In January 31, 2006, BAE Systems announced it had agreed to sell its aerostructures business, based at Glasgow Prestwick Airport and Samlesbury Aerodrome, to Spirit. The unit is a major supplier to Airbus (80%), Boeing (15%) and Raytheon (5%). The transaction was completed on April 1, 2006. Spirit paid £80,000,000 (equivalent to £141,473,912 in 2025) for the business. In 2009, Spirit opened a plant in Subang, Malaysia out of a need for expansion and to take pressure off the Prestwick facility. Spirit opened a composites manufacturing facility in Kinston, North Carolina on July 1, 2010, to build sections of the Airbus A350. Those sections are then sent to another Spirit plant in Saint-Nazaire, France, where they are partially assembled before being sent on to Airbus in Toulouse for final assembly. During this time, Spirit also won the contract to build the wings for the Gulfstream G280 and G650.