Spirit AeroSystems unveils 5-Axis Center of Excellence

Spirit AeroSystems has unveiled the first of two centers of excellence focusing on the fabrication of complex commercial and military aircraft parts. The facility, located on the company's headquarters campus in Wichita, Kansas, will accommodate new work in the global aerostructures market while also supporting current customer contracts.

"We announced plans last year to invest and grow our fabrication capabilities to $1 billion, and this new 5-Axis Center of Excellence in Wichita is a step in achieving that goal," said Spirit President and CEO Tom Gentile. "New state-of-the-art machining in this facility further solidifies Spirit's fabrication and chemical processing capability and will enhance our ability to win new fabrication work from both current and future customers."

The purchase and installation of new equipment in the 20,000ft² facility began in 2017, augmenting the company's existing capabilities as one of the world's largest fabricators of aerospace parts. Spirit offers customers a wide range of solutions including machining, skin and sheet metal fabrication, and chemical processing.

"Our investment in fabrication capabilities through these Center of Excellence expansions builds our global competitive advantage for fabrication work," said Spirit Senior Vice President of Global Fabrication Kevin Matthies. "The expansion in Wichita – and later this year in McAlester, Oklahoma – will allow us to be a true global leader in fabrication work with better quality and improved turn time."

The new 5-Axis Center of Excellence in Wichita will use high-speed technology to specialize in large, complex soft metal parts for fuselage, pylon, and wing structures.

Spirit's fabrication capability spans more than 2.6 million square feet and produces more than 38,000 parts daily. The company leverages one of the largest automated lines in the world to reliably offer high-volume and high-velocity processing.