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| Pictured above are (left to right) ATSG Chief Operating Officer Ed Koharik, ATSG Chief Commercial Officer Mike Berger, Airborne President Todd France, and ATSG Chairman of the Board Joe Hete. (Photo: Business Wire) |
Airborne Maintenance & Engineering Services, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air Transport Services Group, Inc. announced the completion of a renovation and expansion of its Component Repair/Overhaul (CRO) and Manufacturing facility. The project took 17 weeks to complete.
“This investment demonstrates Airborne’s continued drive to provide the most efficient, state-of-the-art repair services,” said Todd France, president of Airborne Maintenance & Engineering Services, “and aligns with our commitment to provide unsurpassed customer service.”
During the renovation, Airborne’s partnership with the University of Akron advanced into Phase II of furthering Supersonic Particle Deposition (SPD) research, commonly known as “cold spray technology.” This collaboration, established in 2015, is designed to drive economic growth through advanced manufacturing in the State of Ohio.
The University of Akron’s grant recently allowed the school to install two vertical mills, one nitrogen generation system and one sheet metal shear in Airborne’s newly renovated CRO facility at the Wilmington Air Park, along with an additional paint booth and sandblasting booth. Airborne’s renovation increased the footprint of its Manufacturing division while expanding ceilings and removing walls to support the additional machinery and equipment.
“The University of Akron has been a great partner throughout the years,” said Brad Carucci, Airborne Director of Component Repair/Overhaul and Manufacturing. “This renovation and expansion project reflects Airborne’s promise to provide additional repair opportunities and solutions for components that would have been deemed beyond economical repair. The Cold Spray Phase II Joint R&D initiative will build on the initial groundbreaking research from this collaboration and aim to implement the SPD process as a commercially viable solution for use in aircraft repairs.”
The SPD process involves using a supersonic jet of expanded gas to spray metal powder onto a solid surface with sufficient energy to cause bonding with the surface without creating a heat-affected zone.
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