Premium Aerotech buys two MAG fiber placement machines for A350

MAG Industrial Automation Systems (Erlanger, Ky., USA) announced on June 28 that it has received an order for two VIPER automated fiber placement systems to support production of the Airbus A350 XWB at the plants of Germany's Premium Aerotech. The two systems, valued at more than $12 million, will be shipped in 2011, joining six others already installed at, or soon to be shipped to, various European factories in the Airbus supply chain.

"This order further validates MAG's role as the supplier of choice for automated fiber placement systems within the Airbus supply chain," said Randy Kappesser, vice president and general manager, MAG Composites Technologies. "While our composites expertise originated in the U.S., the growing number of installations we have outside the Americas allowed us to open a new composite technology center in 2009 in Göppingen, Germany. This materially enhanced our ability to win this order, as well as provide better support to customers in Europe and Asia as we go forward."

Dr. Dieter Meiners, COO at Premium Aerotech, added, "We are glad to expand our cooperation with MAG on the basis of this new project, and will enjoy the convenience of having a new technology center close to our locations."

Premium Aerotech was created in 2009 with the spinoff of three German plants in Nordenham, Varel and Augsburg owned by Airbus and its parent, European Aeronautic Defence & Space Co. (EADS). As part of Airbus' program to cut production costs and develop risk sharing partnerships with other firms, Premium Aerotech has been given contracts to work on the composites-intensive A350 XWB wide-body plane.