An independent provider of Aerospace and Defense product finishing services, Valence Surface Technologies plans additional expansion at its production complex in Wichita, Kansas.

According to company officials, “these investments are being made to ensure Valence maintains market leading position as Aerospace volumes increase and to ensure sufficient capacity for the recent award of numerous SpaceX approvals at the facility.”

“Based on the Wichita facility’s record setting growth rates achieved over the past 12 months, Valence is making some significant changes to increase capacity, reduce its already industry leading turnaround times and to drive significant improvement in cost productivity,” officials explained.

As a part of facility expansion, Valence is adding an entirely new processing line with the capability to process parts up to 14 feet in length and a new and significantly larger process water generation and recovery system.

Additionally, the air handling systems are being upgraded so each building maintains positive pressure and enhanced environmental controls that ensure market leading quality rates are maintained while volumes increase.

In addition to the facility expansion and increased capacity, Valence continues to gain leverage from its focus on Lean Manufacturing, officials said. Improvements include dedicated work cells for the highest volume programs, re-designed digital masking systems with enhanced lighting, redesigned storage bins to free up floor space and a completely reconfigured NDT operation that increased capacity by 300%.

Tracy Glende, Valence CEO, commented, “These additional investments once again demonstrate Valence’s complete commitment to the Aerospace and Defense Supply Chain. Along with these additional capital investments, we continue to gain new approvals and drive cost productivity from our Lean Initiatives to ensure we remain cost competitive while maintaining our industry-leading quality and delivery performance.”