Stevenage 75th anniversary magazine | biz4Biz - Magazine - Page 48
MBDA
1970’s site facing south
The end of the 1960s saw the first flight
of one of the most iconic aeroplanes of
all time – Concorde, and the Stevenage
site played a role in its development.
Work on the world’s most famous nose
cone was carried out on the site’s 50+
foot high tower, usually used for testing
Radomes built on the site.
The 1970s saw a second royal visit.
This time HRH the Duke of Edinburgh
visiting the site in 1974, making a
memorable entrance by arriving on-site
by helicopter. Towards the end of the
decade, in 1978, there was another
change of name for the company. This
time was the first of several British
Aerospace iterations, which continued
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throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.
At its peak in the mid-1980s, around
7,000 employees worked on the
Stevenage site. However, plenty of
changes in the defence industry from
this period and into the 1990s, which
included advances in technology, saw
the site reduce in size. It was also around
this time, that the company and the site
became multi-national.
In October 1996, British Aerospace
(Dynamics) Limited merged with
French company Matra Défense to form
Matra BAe Dynamics (UK) Limited
(MBD). The receipt of new contracts
from the UK and French governments
in early 1997 meant many Stevenage
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employees were now regularly working
with French colleagues.
The road to becoming part of a fully
integrated European group continued in
2001. MBD merged with Alenia Marconi
Systems and MBDA UK Limited (the
initials of all the companies) was born.
Since then MBDA has continued
to invest heavily in redeveloping its
Stevenage site. This work continues
today, with new buildings being erected
and existing ones revamped.
MBDA and its predecessor companies
have always prided themselves on
offering jobs to the local community.
In the 1950s, the company established
itself in the local community through