Hitco receives Manufacturing Technology Achievement Award

“We are very pleased to receive this award,” said Dave Kucharski, HITCO’s President. “Through the perseverance and hard work of our employees as well as that of our various team members, we were able to meet or exceed all of the project’s goals for automated fabrication of Out-of-Autoclave Materials. These achievements set the stage for widespread use of this new class of composites in future production applications.”

The Composites Consortium enables industry participation within the Composites Manufacturing Technology Center (CMTC) of Excellence; a Department of Defense (DoD) R&D initiative administered by SCRA Applied R&D. CMTC is one of nine U. S. Navy Manufacturing Technology Centers of Excellence currently operating within the country.
These centers support the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Research and are renowned internationally for their work in improving weapons systems and troop safety for U.S. forces as well as processes, cost effectiveness and efficiencies for the DoD.

HITCO, which has a multi-decade long track record of supplying composite components to the U.S. Navy for production programs including submarine bow domes and fairings, participated as a member of the Large Scale Composite Structures for U.S. Heavy Lift Launch Vehicles Project Team.

The project team received the award for its work in manufacturing aerospace composite components using the latest carbon fiber and polymer systems. The project utilized advanced materials and processing methods, successfully manufacturing large scale, high-tech composites at reduced tooling costs. Additional team members included Janicki Engineering and Spirit AeroSystems.

About HITCO Carbon Composites

HITCO Carbon Composites, a subsidiary of SGL Group – The Carbon Company, is a leading supplier of composite structures and advanced materials primarily for the aerospace / aircraft and defense markets. Founded in 1922 and based in Gardena, California, HITCO was an early specialist in composite structures and materials.  Today HITCO continues to pursue its goal of becoming the premier Tier II Aerostructures supplier for commercial aviation, military and space applications. Additionally, HITCO has a leading global position as a supplier of high temperature materials and carbon-carbon brakes for military & commercial aircraft, high performance race cars and high value industrial applications.

SGL Group