Alliant Techsystems Inc. (ATK), yesterday, inaugurated its new Aircraft Commercial Center of Excellence (ACCE) facility in Clearfield, Utah. The company said the ACCE plant has been made ready for operation in less than one year after the announcement of its expansion.
The ACCE facility is strategically located adjacent to Alliant’s existing Utah composite facilities which manufacture military aircraft composite structures. The plant set to function as the headquarters for its commercial aircraft programs will support the manufacturing of composite airframe and engine components for the Airbus A350 XWB, and General Electric and Rolls-Royce engine programs.
Alliant expects the opening of this facility to take the company’s aircraft composite business to the next level. Spread across an area 615,000 square feet, the new consolidated manufacturing center will create a full spectrum engineering and manufacturing center for commercial composite aircraft structures and components.
Further, the plant’s location allows Alliant to take full advantage of its existing design, engineering and technical expertise and positions it to meet the rapid increase for composite structures in the commercial aerospace market.
Alliant said that the new plant is a key component of its strategy to capitalize on the growing demand for modern, more efficient commercial aircraft and will handle more than $1 billion worth commercial aircraft component orders over the next several years.
Combined with nearly $500 million of orders for military aircraft composite structures for the existing Utah facilities, this new production plant has now positioned Alliant in two high-growth markets for the long-term.
Alliant expects initial production from the ACCE facility to come in at 700 parts per month, with further acceleration expected depending on customer demand and market expansion. At full capacity, the new plant is expected to produce about 10,000 parts per month. Going forward, Alliant expects to add up to 800 at the plant.
Minneapolis, Minnesota-based Alliant Techsystems supplies aerospace and defense products to U.S. government agencies, and its prime contractors and sub-contractors. The company also supplies ammunition and related accessories to law enforcement agencies and commercial customers.
We retain our long-term ‘Neutral’ recommendation on the stock, supported by a short-term Zacks #3 Rank (Hold). On a competitive landscape, the company is ranked at par with its closest peers General Dynamics Corp. (GD) and Raytheon Co. (RTN), who also carry a Zacks #3 Rank.
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