Print edition: 
Spirit AeroSystems on Thursday formally opened its new plant in Kinston, N.C., marking the start of parts production for Airbus' new A350 XWB airliner.
Employees will design and manufacture the composite center fuselage's upper and lower shells and the front wing spar of the plane.
Spirit CEO Jeff Turner and Airbus CEO Thomas Enders hosted Thursday's ceremony. It was attended by employees; Spirit, Airbus and EADS officials; and community, regional and state officials, including North Carolina Gov. Beverly Purdue.
There are 90 employees at the 500,000-square-foot facility in Kinston's Global TransPark. The company plans to hire another 110 people by the end of the year, officials said.
The Airbus work will allow employment to grow to about 700 over the next few years.
But reaching Spirit's goal of employing 1,000 people there will require putting additional work at the site, the company said.
In order to help attract Spirit to the state, a North Carolina economic development group called the Golden Leaf Foundation agreed to provide a $100 million grant to the Global TransPark Authority to build the Spirit facility.
The authority is leasing the facility to Spirit. The amount of Spirit's rent depends on job creation and investment.
Incentives to Spirit total about $125 million. Spirit plans to invest more than $200 million in the site, while Airbus and other partners plan to invest another $300 million, company spokesman Ken Evans said.
Spirit won the Airbus contract in May 2008 to develop the composite fuselage structure, called Section 15. It will measure about 65 feet long, 20 feet wide and weight almost 9,000 pounds.
The company also will produce the spar, a wing structure made of composite materials weighing more than 2,000 pounds and measuring 105 feet long.
The fuselage components will be shipped to Spirit's new facility in Saint-Nazaire, France, for assembly before delivery to Airbus.
The front spar will be shipped to Spirit's facility in Prestwick, Scotland, for integration into the wing leading edges before shipment to Airbus, the company said.
