- Under the multiyear contract, LMI will produce the lightweight, affordable composite parts for Boeing 787 Dreamliner, 767 and 747 airplanes
- Boeing in 2017 certified LMI’s Everett, Wash., operation as a thermoplastic composite parts provider
EVERETT, Wash., March 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- LMI Aerospace’s composite operation in Everett, Wash., has received a multiyear contract from Boeing to provide thermoplastic composite parts for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, 767 and 747 airplanes. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2019.
The contract follows Boeing’s 2017 qualification of the LMI operation as a provider of thermoplastic composite parts. Thermoplastic composite materials are renowned in the aerospace industry for providing remarkable costs savings when produced at rate compared to thermoset composites and advanced metals. These savings are especially realized on smaller parts, where final finishing work on parts formed from other materials can significantly increase per-part cost. LMI also achieves cost savings by using some automated technology in the production process and by designing tools so parts can be produced in batches. Thermoplastics also provide the typical composites strength and weight advantages compared to metals.
“We are pleased to help expand Boeing’s supply base for this lightweight and cost-effective technology,” said Don McEwen, general manager of LMI’s composite and testing facility in Everett. “Our thermoplastics work also expands LMI’s portfolio of composite fabrication and assembly manufacturing work.”
LMI’s Everett operation, which was established in 1989 as Integrated Technologies and acquired by LMI in 2009, also supplies numerous thermoset packages to Boeing for the 787 Dreamliner, 777X, 767 tanker and V-22 programs, as well as to Sikorsky, Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation and Gulfstream. The site performs composite testing, research and development, and manufacturing for U.S. and international aerospace customers.
About LMI Aerospace – A Member of the Sonaca Group
LMI Aerospace is a leading supplier of structural assemblies, kits and components and provider of engineering services to the commercial, business and regional, and military aerospace markets. Manufacturing more than 40,000 products for a variety of platforms and providing turnkey engineering capabilities to support aircraft lifecycles, LMI offers complete, integrated solutions in aerostructures, engineering and program management. Headquartered in St. Louis, LMI has 19 locations across the United States plus Mexico and Sri Lanka. LMI is a member of the Sonaca Group, a global aerostructures company headquartered in Gosselies, Belgium. For more information, visit: www.lmiaerospace.com and www.sonaca.com.