Doncasters invests further in aviation future

As the commercial aircraft market bounces back, leading manufacturer of high-precision alloy engineering components, Doncasters, has announced investments totalling $12.9m in Doncasters Castings located in the US, and Doncasters Precision Castings, based in Droitwich, UK.  

With post-COVID orders from commercial airlines higher than predicted, Doncasters is doubling the capacity of its US operations in Connecticut, and more than doubling production in the shell lines at their UK site in Droitwich. This closely follows the announcement of Doncasters’ acquisition of Uni-Pol, which increased its annual revenue to over $500m.

This is particularly good news for an industry still undergoing challenges, as evidenced by Boeing and Airbus in their recent financial reports.

Mike Quinn, CEO of Doncasters, said: “When CEOs such as Dave Calhoun and Guillaume Faury repeatedly talk of supply chain stresses and a lack of stability, we listen and we act. We pride ourselves on our ability to deliver, and these significant investments at two of our 14 global manufacturing sites will help to alleviate some of the stresses facing our customers.

“All signs show that the aviation industry is recovering, with many predicting it to return to 2019 numbers by mid-2023. One of the headwinds that is delaying recovery is a lack of stability in component delivery. At Doncasters we are making sure we meet this demand, offering predictable and consistent service to OEMs.”

With these investments, Doncasters, established in 1778, will be building on its recent successes in the aerospace sector, as well as its IGT and automotive operations. The two new robot shell lines at the Droitwich site will be delivered by early 2023, more than doubling outputs and efficiencies.

The significant investment at Connecticut, US-based Doncasters Castings will involve building an extension to the current manufacturing facility to house three robot shell coating cells, and two final drying systems. The line will commence production in 2023, ramping up to full operating capacity in 2025.

Doncasters are working with VA Technology, a company with extensive experience in the design, manufacture, installation, and service of complete shell manufacturing systems throughout the investment casting industry, to deliver the two upgrades.

Doncasters
www.doncasters.com