ONE of Burnley’s largest private-sector employers has begun building a new German site.

The firm Aircelle, which employs around 900 people at its Bancroft Road site, has laid the first stone at its new facility in Hamburg, where staff will will make nacelles — enclosures — for Airbus A320 NEO jetliners.

Aircelle is owned by the French company Safran.

Aircelle’s chairman and chief executive, Martin Sion, said: “This new facility is another milestone for our company’s development as a world-leading supplier of engine nacelles. It will be an asset in our long-term relationship with Airbus.”

The 8,000 square metre site will be located at Hausbruch,