BANK of England governor Mervyn King toured the Airbus plant at Filton recently as part of a visit to businesses in the South West.

Mr King, who was in the district to meet regional members of the Confederation of British Industry and Institute of Directors, made a special request to visit the aircraft manufacturers and meet some of the 6,000 strong workforce.

He said: "What interests me is how Airbus has partnered technology with the needs of its customers. Not all companies manage that goal."

He said he was impressed with employees' enthusiasm for the products they were working on.

"Seeing themselves as part of an integrated programme is clearly very important," said Mr King.

"The success or failure of a company is down to its people and what I have seen at Airbus is people who are looking to the long term success of the company."

The Filton plant, one of the biggest employers in South Gloucestershire, designs and builds wings for Airbus aircraft including the giant Airbus A380, the world's largest commercial airliner.

The firm is currently celebrating clinching a contract to supply up to 20 Airbus A350-900 passenger jets to China Airlines in a deal worth up to £2billion.