Park Aerospace Corp. Announces Ground-Breaking for Major Expansion of Its Manufacturing and Development Facilities in Newton, Kansas
Newton, Kansas, Monday, August 19, 2019…..Park Aerospace Corp. (NYSE-PKE) announced that, on August 15, 2019, the Company celebrated the official ground-breaking for the major expansion of its manufacturing and development facilities located at the Newton City-County Airport in Newton, Kansas. This major expansion, which will include the construction of a redundant manufacturing facility located adjacent to Park’s existing Newton, Kansas facility, was originally announced on December 17, 2018. The 90,000 square feet expansion will essentially double the size of Park’s existing Newton, Kansas facilities and is projected to cost approximately $20.5 million. The new facility, which was originally conceived of as a redundant manufacturing facility for Park’s major aerospace customer and the large aerospace OEMs it supports, is also expected to be needed for additional manufacturing capacity in approximately two years. The major expansion will include enhanced and upgraded hot-melt film and tape lines and mixing and delivery systems, an expanded production lab, a new R&D lab, additional freezer and storage space and additional infrastructure to support the expanded operation. The expansion is expected to be complete in approximately one year and to be qualified and in production in approximately two years.
Brian Shore, Park Aerospace Corp.’s Chairman and CEO, said, “Our ground-breaking celebration, which took place on a typical hot and windy Newton, Kansas summer afternoon, was just a wonderful event and a very special day for Park. It was so gratifying to me that close to 50 government officials and other friends and well-wishers from Newton and the surrounding area joined us for the celebration. Of course, our Park People attended as well. I want to express our deep gratitude to the people of Newton and Harvey County for making us feel so welcome and at home in their wonderful and special community. We look forward to expanding our home at the beautiful Newton CityCounty Airport.”
Brian Shore continued, “It has been a long and difficult journey since the ground-breaking for our first Newton, Kansas facility in that empty field at the Newton, Kansas Airport on that cold winter day in January of 2008. Many sacrifices needed to be made. Much adversity needed to be faced. Many set-backs, disappointments, failures and loneliness had to be overcome. But, to me, it has all been worth it. Now, I am not saying we are where we want to be, because we are not. We have not yet achieved Greatness as a company, which is our singular objective, but our People have accomplished great things against pretty steep odds.”
Park Aerospace Corp. develops and manufactures solution and hot-melt advanced composite materials used to produce composite structures for the global aerospace markets. Park’s advanced composite materials include film adhesives (undergoing qualification) and lightning strike materials. Park offers an array of composite materials specifically designed for hand lay-up or automated fiber placement (AFP) manufacturing applications. Park’s advanced composite materials are used to produce primary and secondary structures for jet engines, large and regional transport aircraft, military aircraft, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs commonly referred to as “drones”), business jets, general aviation aircraft and rotary wing aircraft. Park also offers specialty ablative materials for rocket motors and nozzles and specially designed materials for radome applications. As a complement to Park’s advanced composite materials offering, Park designs and fabricates composite parts, structures and assemblies and low volume tooling for the aerospace industry. Target markets for Park’s composite parts and structures (which include Park’s proprietary composite Sigma Strut and Alpha Strut product lines) are, among others, prototype and development aircraft, special mission aircraft, spares for legacy military and civilian aircraft and exotic spacecraft. Park’s objective is to do what others are either unwilling or unable to do. When nobody else wants to do it because it is too difficult, too small or too annoying, sign us up.
Additional corporate information is available on the Company’s web site at www.parkelectro.com.
Contact: Donna D’Amico-Annitto
