European aircraft manufacturer Airbus has made history with the opening of its new facility in Mobile, Alabama, at the former Brookley Air Force Base. The company should see its first aircraft delivered early in 2016 and thousands of jobs created in the production chain.

Traditionally, the production of Airbus aircraft has taken place in Toulouse, France, and Hamburg, Germany, with individual components produced in various countries for assembly in the two cities. However, in 2011 a production line for A320 aircraft was opened in Tianjin, China, and this additional line at the Mobile Aeroplex will help Airbus raise its production rate, reach new customers and increase its global reach.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place Sept. 14, with a red, white and blue theme and the slogan "Let's get to work ... together," emphasizing its global connectivity between the various sites around the world.

The Mobile plant is a final assembly line for the A320 family aircraft and the first parts started arriving in July. The main 200,000-square-foot assembly hall will be completed soon, but is already operational, and the new team had been hard at work to be able to present the first two aircraft on the line to the media at the ceremony. The aircraft — both A321 variants for JetBlue and American Airlines respectively — will begin testing and see delivery early in 2016.

It is hoped that the rate of production in Mobile will reach 40 or 50 aircraft per year, primarily of A321s in the first year. Around 260 staff will be employed at the site, with more than 3,500 indirect jobs supported by the plant.

All aircraft produced will be the ceo (current engine option) until 2017, when the plant will transition along with its fellow factories to the neo (new engine option) aircraft in the family, which are currently in development.

Whereas most components are flown between factories within Europe, the Mobile plant receives most of its parts via sea at the nearby deep-water port. This partially accounts for the slower production rate (as a comparison, Toulouse is aiming to see 60 A320 aircraft per month in the next few years).

However, Airbus' $600 million cost for developing the facility is seen as an investment as it is hoped that having a presence in the United States will help drive more sales from North American carriers. Airbus even added a special slogan to the tail of the first aircraft reading, "This aircraft proudly made in the U.S.A. by the worldwide team from Airbus," as a means of driving home their commitment to this market and all that their presence brings.

"Airbus and Alabama share the same values and the same vision: hard work, optimism, excitement about the future, we are dedicated to quality, and we take pride in what we can accomplish," Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley said.

The new plant occupies a significant portion of what was Brookley Air Force Base until its closure in 1969. The Mobile Airport Authority, which also manages Mobile Regional Airport, took control in 1972 and is to be credited for creating a combined transportation hub that also sees maintenance carried out by various airlines and now has a significant tenant in the form of Airbus to bolster jobs and commerce for the city.