Manchester-based EDM (www.edm.ltd.uk), a leading global provider of training simulators to the civil aviation and defence sectors, last week welcomed the mayor of Greater Manchester,

Andy Burnham, to open its new £1.3 million 20,000ft² manufacturing facility in Newton Heath, east Manchester.

The new structure has been built to meet the demands of the company’s rapidly increasing order book; the company has doubled in size since 2013, and last year had a turnover of more than £24 million.

Accommodating 50 staff, EDM’s new purpose-built facility sits adjacent to its existing 100,000ft² site and provides all the resources necessary for the company to manufacture its full range of training simulators.

In the past year, EDM has announced orders from KLM, China Southern Airlines, S7 Airlines and Jet2.com; it counts Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and Thales among its defence clients.

EDM has also just launched a new range of virtual reality training simulators for the airline industry and expects to win its first order with a major airline later this year.

Tony Bermingham, managing director of EDM, said: “It was an absolute pleasure to have the Mr Burnham open our new facility.

This significant investment will help us build more high-quality training simulators for our growing customer base as we continue to expand our global presence.”

Mr Burnham said: “This is a fantastic new facility; and the fact that EDM has grown so quickly, requiring new workspaces, is testament to their hard work and the quality of their products.

“I am immensely proud that there are successful and innovative manufacturers, such as EDM, operating on a global scale within the region.

“They successfully bring together digital and advanced manufacturing and are a glowing example of Greater Manchester’s strength in these sectors.”