Park Electrochemical is expanding its aerospace manufacturing, development and design operations at the Newton City-County Airport in Newton, Kansas. The project includes construction of a redundant manufacturing facility next to Park’s existing Newton facilities, in part to support an aerospace customer. This doubles the size of Park’s existing facilities.

The total cost of the expansion is expected to be approximately $19 million, and the expansion is expected to be completed in the first half of the 2020 calendar year. The expansion includes new mixing and delivery systems, new hot-melt film and tape manufacturing lines, space to accommodate an additional hot-melt tape line or solution treating line, space to accommodate a confidential joint development project with a major aerospace customer, additional slitting capability, significant additional freezer and storage space, an expanded production lab, a new research and development lab and additional office space.

Brian Shore, Park’s chairman and CEO, said, “Park was a newcomer to Newton, Kansas when we built our original facility there about ten years ago, but the people of Newton have gone out of their way to make us feel welcome and at home in their special Newton, Kansas community. So, expanding Park’s aerospace operations at the beautiful Newton, Kansas Airport was the easy and obvious choice for us. Thank you to the City of Newton and its people for your graciousness and hospitality.”

Park Electrochemical is an aerospace company which develops and manufactures solution and hot-melt advanced composite materials used to produce composite structures for the global aerospace markets. Park’s advanced composite materials include film adhesives (undergoing qualification) and lightning strike materials. (SV)