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Area Development - Site Selection, Facility Planning and Workforce Development

Messier-Bugatti-Dowty Expands Walton, Kentucky, Aircraft Carbon Brake Production Hub

02/26/2016
Messier-Bugatti-Dowty is expanding its American aircraft carbon brake production and refurbishment plant, located in Walton, Kentucky. The expansion will be located on the current Messier-Bugatti-Dowty site, near existing carbon production units, and will be able to share some of the same infrastructures.

According to the firm, the planned expansion, worth more than 100 million dollars, aims to increase the Walton plant's production capacity to meet expected airline demand for wheels and carbon brakes. Following the construction phase, from 2016 to 2018, the plant will add about 80 employees.

"Since being built in 1999 the Walton plant has undergone constant development to keep pace with our sales growth," said Vincent Mascré, CEO of Messier-Bugatti-Dowty. "I would especially like to thank the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development for their support and their commitment to this project, which will enable us to boost our production capacity and meet our customers' growing needs."

The Walton plant's clientele already includes a large number of North American airlines (Delta, Spirit Airlines, Air Canada, etc.), and its carbon brakes are used on many different commercial and military aircraft, company officials said. In addition to Walton, Messier-Bugatti-Dowty has two other carbon production plants, in Villeurbanne (France) and Sendayan (Malaysia).

Carbon brakes were introduced on commercial aircraft by Messier-Bugatti-Dowty in 1986, and are now the benchmark in high-performance braking. Offering energy absorption capacity two to three times greater than steel brakes, and reduced operating costs, carbon brakes deliver proven technological, economic and environmental advantages to airlines.

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