Ayrshire has always punched above its weight as an industrial powerhouse, and continues to do so today, with important home-grown businesses as well as foreign-financed ventures providing employment to locals and products to the World.
Surprisingly the main industrial centre is not one of the bigger towns, like Kilmarnock or Irvine, but instead the largely middle-class settlement of Prestwick, which is also distinguished as the birth place of the Open golf tournament. This is due to a legacy of advanced engineering that grew up around the former airbase and now airport, which proved to be more resilient to the pressures of de-industrialisation that swept much of the rest of Scotland and Ayrshire.
So without more ado, here is a list of the ten most important industrial companies in my view.
(1) Spirit Aerospace 1000 workers
In a large factory on the North side of the airport, Spirit Aerospace makes wing components for the Airbus 380, Airbus 350, and smaller airliners and employs around about 1000 staff
(2) GE Caledonia 600
This company provides major aeroengine overhauling services.
(3) UTC Collins 300 (est.)
Specialists in the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) of aircraft engine casings and components, with many customers in Europe and the Middle East.
(4) BAE Systems 250
BAE Systems is a global defence, security, and aerospace company with around 250 employees at their Prestwick factory, which in recent years has seen job cuts due to government cut backs in military programs.
(5) Wallace MacDowall 185
A versatile engineering company that does subcontract work, including complex fabrications, precision machining, and laser cutting.
(6) Nichol McKay 160
A second-generation family-owned company that manufactures and assembles high quality engineering products and components. This includes toolmaking, metal fabrication, and steel stockholding, supplying manufacturing companies around the UK with high quality steel for sophisticated components.
(7) Woodward 75 (est.)
Located near the airport, Woodward operates a repair and overhaul facility for aircraft engines, providing an aircraft component repair service for the European, African, Middle Eastern and Asia Pacific airlines. In 2018 the company won the the President’s Award at the Scottish Engineering Awards for manufacturing excellence.
(8) Precision Tooling 60
As the name suggests this is a tool-making company that provides tools for major automotive customers and high precision components for the oil industry, as well as providing toolroom facilities for other companies in Prestwick Aerospace Park.
(9) Veracity 35
This company designs and manufactures various kinds of internet-linked surveillance equipment, including Power over Ethernet and Ethernet over Coax devices, adapters, extenders, camera installation tools, video storage systems, and integrated command and control systems.
(10) Tannlin 34
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