RCS - Velocity Composites - Major milestone achieved at new Alabama facility

Velocity CompositesAnnouncement

18/04/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 5054W  Velocity Composites PLC  18 April 2023

REACH

18 April 2023

 

VELOCITY COMPOSITES PLC

(Velocity or the "Company")

 

Major milestone achieved at new Alabama facility

 

Velocity Composites plc (AIM: VEL), the leading supplier of composite material
kits to aerospace and other high-performance manufacturers, is delighted to
announce the successful manufacture of the first composite production kits
from its new advanced manufacturing facility in Alabama, US.

 

The manufacture of the first production kits is a major milestone at the site
which was built to support the five-year Work Package Agreement that was
announced in December 2022 with GKN Aerospace in the United States (the
"Customer"). The agreement is expected to be worth in excess of US$100 million
in revenue over five years, with the Customer confirming strong end user
demand for its parts into 2024.

 

This milestone is the culmination of an intensive period of training, audits,
and approvals, during which the site successfully achieved AS9100, Rev. D
approval in November 2022. Several prime customer audits followed throughout
December 2022 and January 2023, and concluded in full customer audit approval
and authority to proceed with First Article Manufacture being provided in
February 2023. This critical step was the ultimate verification by the
customer that the site infrastructure, capability, trained processes, quality
and transfer plans presented by Velocity exceeded the required standard.

 

A detailed First Article Inspection plan, which has been agreed with the
Customer, continues to be implemented. One of each composite kit will be
manufactured, delivered and verified before proceeding to sustained volume
production. This will take place on a programme-by-programme basis and will
lead to the phased transfer of ten aircraft programme projects to Velocity.
The final programme is scheduled to be completed within this financial year
and will enable a full rate of production to commence either at or before the
next financial year.

 

The kits for the first programme are currently being transferred and account
for approximately 18% of the total contract annual revenue. Work is already
underway for the second programme and, being the single largest programme,
accounts for a further 25% of the total contract annual revenue. This
therefore means that approximately 43% of the total contract annual revenue is
on schedule to be approved and at rate production by the end of May 2023, with
the remainder to follow.

 

The facility is now also being marketed as a launch hub for future customers,
and high-level business development activities are already underway with
several large potential customers.

 

 

Jon Bridges, Chief Executive, Velocity, said:

 

"This is a major milestone for Velocity Composites as we expand into North
America. The whole Velocity team, both in the US and UK, have worked
incredibly hard to deliver a fully operational site, a well-trained team, and
a stand-up and approval plan ready to start delivering flying products to our
launch customer.

 

The site can move forward into production ramp-up with continued support from
the UK team and close collaboration with our customer to ensure a smooth
transfer of the entire project.

 

For myself and the Velocity team, the customer and industry approvals of this
new showcase facility is further endorsement that our business model,
processes and technology are world class in our industry, and our targeted
business development activities are further enhanced by having a capable
advanced manufacturing site in North America with significant capacity to
grow."

 

Enquiries:

 Velocity                                Tel: +44 (0) 1282 577577

 Andy Beaden, Chairman

 Jon Bridges, Chief Executive Officer

 Adam Holden, Finance Director

 Cenkos (Nominated Adviser and Broker)   Tel: +44 (0) 20 7397 8900

 Katy Birkin

 Ben Jeynes

 George Lawson

 SEC Newgate (Financial Communications)  Tel: +44 (0) 7540 106 366

 Robin Tozer / George Esmond             Email: velocitycomposites@secnewgate.co.uk

 Harry Handyside

 

About Velocity Composites

Based in Burnley, UK, and with operations in the US, Velocity Composites is
the leading supplier of composite material kits to aerospace and other
high-performance manufacturers, that reduce costs and improve sustainability.
Customers include Airbus, Boeing, Safran and GKN.

 

By using Velocity's proprietary technology, manufacturers can also free up
internal resources to focus on their core business. Velocity has significant
potential for expansion, both in the UK and abroad, including into new market
areas, such as wind energy, urban air mobility and electric vehicles, where
the demand for composites is expected to grow.

 

 

 

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