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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

AGC AeroComposites Invests In Fabrication Machinery At Hayden, Idaho, Manufacturing Center

07/07/2016
AGC AeroComposites, a global composites and metal components and assemblies manufacturer for the aerospace and defense industry has invested in the development and deployment of a proprietary Automated Lay-up Machine for the fabrication of composite structures and components at its production center in Hayden, Idaho.

The company’s Hayden facility specializes in manufacturing both structural and non-structural advanced composites. According to company officials, by investing in this advanced technology, AGC AeroComposites can provide significant cost reductions when compared to traditional hand lay-up processes. The machine is ideal for products such as cleats, clips, angle brackets and intercostals. The ALM conforms to existing process specifications, does not require engineering changes and uses existing or inexpensive new tooling.

“We realize that we have to remain innovative and continue to make strategic investments in order to compete with low-cost countries and emerging technologies,” said Wayne Exton, CEO of AGC AeroComposites. “We are excited to deploy the first machine of this type in the world and look forward to adding value to customers looking to reduce total landed costs in their products. This is truly a game changer.”

“The ALM is exceeding all of our expectations in superior quality and reduced cycle times,” said Mark Withrow, Vice President/General Manager of AGC’s Hayden facility. “The repeatability of this enhanced technology is a dramatic step forward in first pass yield.” Officials noted “more complex geometries for composite products are being explored for future development.”

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