Spirit AeroSystems develops and leverages innovative composite technology

Spirit AeroSystems has leveraged advanced composite technology from its Research and Development portfolio to introduce new work at the company’s U.K. facility. Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon visited Spirit’s site in Prestwick, Ayrshire, to share details of the new single-aisle spoiler work on the Airbus A320 family programs. “We are pleased to utilize this innovative technology to not only bring improved quality and savings to our customer but also to secure new work for our U.K. facility,” said Scott McLarty, vice president and general manager of Spirit’s U.K. and Malaysia facilities. “This is an opportunity for us to leverage our technology, design, engineering and manufacturing expertise to better support the needs of our customers, and it strengthens our ability to secure future work.”
The Spirit-developed Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) solution supports the high-volume production of spoilers and other monolithic components and promises to deliver improved quality and significant cost savings. Spirit will establish a world-class manufacturing platform involving state-of-the-art automation and robotics to meet its customer’s rate demands, which are currently at over 600 spoilers per month. The Scottish Government is providing investment support to secure the project, which will result in an increase in headcount at the facility.