Dive Brief:
- Park Aerospace, a supplier of fabrics, sheeting and other composite materials for aircraft manufacturers, saw third quarter sales rise to $17.3 million, up 20% over last year despite shipment delays as markets recover.
- More than $1 million in sales for the three months ending Nov. 30 came from materials manufactured with a rayon-based carbon fiber from partner ArianeGroup, a France-based joint venture between Safran and Airbus. Park is the exclusive North American distributor of Raycarb C2B fabric used for advanced missile programs.
- To meet growing customer demand, CEO Brian Shore said on a call Tuesday that Park will invest $50 million to build a 120,000-square-foot plant in the Midwest, nearly doubling its current composite materials manufacturing capacity. The plant is expected to be completed next year and operational by 2028.
Dive Insight:
As more defense contracts roll in to replenish depleted missile system stockpiles and Airbus looks to use LEAP engines for its A320 jets, Shore said Park is well positioned to benefit as a key supplier for both initiatives.
Shore said Park is in talks with ArianeGroup to increase C2B fabric manufacturing capacity in the United States to support the Department of Defense’s missile programs. The agency this week announced a $1 billion investment in L3Harris’ Missile Solutions, a rocket motor spinoff. Park is also a supplier for a number of classified and public programs, including Valkyrie’s uncrewed aerial system that recently received approval from the U.S. Marine Corps.
“Significant additional composite materials manufacturing capacity is required to support our [customers] and long-term business and sales outlooks,” Shore said.
Currently, Park’s aerospace manufacturing and development facility is located in Newton, Kansas, according to the company’s latest annual report. The 183,500-square-foot site underwent an expansion last year that upgraded production lines and added capacity.
Commercial aircraft manufacturers comprise nearly half of Park’s sales on an annual basis, while military customers make up more than 40%, according to the company’s presentation slides. Business aircraft account for about 10% of sales.
During the third quarter, the company reported a gross profit of $5.9 million, up 55% from a year ago. Although earnings improved, Shore said total missed shipments increased to $740,000 due in part to supply chain and engineering issues.
“That number is up quite a bit,” he said, citing industry challenges as customer programs recover and ramp up.
Tariffs had a “minimal impact” on Park during the quarter, in part because the company is able to pass costs on to customers on a short-term basis, Mark Esquivel, president and COO, said on the call.
Looking ahead, Esquivel said the last few months have been “quiet” in terms of tariffs and anticipates conditions to be “pretty similar” for the next few quarters.
