The 615 000 ft2 facility will serve as the headquarters for ATK Aerospace Structures' commercial aircraft programmes and will support the manufacturing of commercial airframes and engine components for the Airbus A350, and General Electric and Rolls-Royce engine programmes.
The new manufacturing centre will increase capability and capacity by creating a full spectrum engineering and manufacturing centre for composite commercial aircraft structures and components. It will be capable of manufacturing more than 10 000 parts per month at rate production levels.
Composites expansion
"Our aircraft composite business has grown substantially over the last several years and this new facility will take us to the next level," says Blake Larson, president of ATK Aerospace Systems Group. "The ACCE facility will increase our capacity dramatically and enable us to grow our roles in commercial aircraft for both domestic and international markets."
"This commercial aircraft facility is the foundation of ATK's commitment to meeting the accelerating global demand of composites on commercial aircraft," adds Joy de Lisser, Vice President and General Manager of ATK Aerospace Structures Division. "Locating the ACCE in Utah provided us the opportunity to co-locate our design, engineering and technical talent with our existing facilities."
The new ATK facility will feature patented automated stiffener forming technology for both linear and radial airframe structures capable of producing 40 000 m (25 miles) of composite structures per month, large diameter autoclaves capable of curing parts in excess of 22 m in length, engine case wrap capability and assembly, CNC machining, water jet capability, and automated ultrasonic and non-destructive inspection (NDI) systems.
Final construction activities will finish in July and ATK will hold an opening ceremony in August.
