Velocity Composites enters US market with $100 million GKN agreement

Velocity Composites, a leading regional aerospace composite material kits supplier which has its headquarters at AMS Technology Park, on Billington Road in Burnley, has announced its entry into the US market – the largest aerospace manufacturing market in the world – with the signing of an agreement with GKN Aerospace expected to be worth more than $100 million (the equivalent of around £808,900) of revenue over five years.

To support the expansion into international markets, Velocity Composites also announced the development of its first site outside of the UK, a 40,000 sq ft advanced manufacturing facility near to the GKN site in Alabama.

The new facility will build and supply all the composite material kits for GKN’s aerostructure and has been upgraded to the required clean room standard, where it also includes Velocity’s proprietary digital technology and latest manufacturing systems, covering a diverse range of high- performance composite structures across military, civil and business jet programmes.

Velocity plans to train and employ up to 30 local staff, supported initially by existing staff from the UK.

The collaboration with GKN – a global leader in the use of composite materials in engineered aerospace structures –uses Velocity’s advanced VRP (Velocity Resource Planning) technology and supply chain services to support GKN’s sustainability and efficiency objectives, assisting the aerospace industry’s push to achieving significant environmental and sustainability improvements in this decade.

Andy Beaden, chairman of Velocity Composites, said: “This is a major milestone for Velocity as we make a permanent entry into the US market and expand our longstanding relationship with GKN. During the pandemic, we worked hard to deepen our relationships with clients and further invest in our technology to prepare for the recovery.

“We believe this agreement will be part of a long-term positive trend from which Velocity will benefit, as customers look to recover from the pandemic and achieve new and improved ways of working, with a key focus on sustainability, as production rates increase to pre-pandemic levels.

“As a company with its roots firmly in the North of England, this agreement is a significant endorsement of both Velocity’s, and the region’s, manufacturing expertise from one of the world’s leading aerospace suppliers. In the future, we look forward to working with more US-based customers.”

The agreement builds on Velocity’s longstanding relationship with GKN Aerospace which started in 2015 and includes existing contracts at three of GKN Aerospace’s UK sites, including Bristol, Luton, and the Isle of Wight. This is the first time that Velocity has worked with GKN outside the UK.