Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC, 漢翔航空工業), the nation’s largest civilian and military aircraft manufacturer, on Friday announced that its new composite materials manufacturing plant has commenced operations and was expected to contribute NT$1 billion (US$31.04 million) in annual revenue.
The Taiwan Advanced Composite Center 19 (TACC-19) is to be used primarily to fill aircraft fairing orders for Airbus A320s.
The 5,500m2 Taichung facility is equipped with three autoclaves to elevate pressure and heat for the production of advanced composite materials, as well as two five-axis computerized numeral control machine tools for milling components.
“The capacity of the original TACC is no longer adequate to satisfy our clients demands,” AIDC chairman Anson Liao (廖榮鑫) said in a ceremony marking the plant’s opening, which coincided with the company’s 20th anniversary.
Much of the plant’s capacity goes into making faring structures that are fitted to the lower fuselage of A320s to cover gaps between parts and improve aerodynamics.
“The aircraft faring contract with Airbus SAS is expected to provide the company with a steady revenue stream, and help contribute to sales growth when ongoing negotiations on supply contracts for other parts bear fruit,” Liao said.
International passenger flight demand is expected to increase about 4.6 percent annually for the next 20 years, creating a demand for about 32,600 new jetliners over the next two decades, Liao said, citing forecasts by Airbus Group SE.
TACC-19, which broke ground in June last year, is the result of a NT$2.4 billion capital expenditure the company allocated last year.
Other investments made by the company last year include a manufacturing center for aircraft engine housings and a hangar for the F-16A/B fighter jet upgrade program for the Republic of China (ROC) Air Force.
AIDC last month held a ceremony after its Arizona-based US subsidiary began operations in March.
The subsidiary is to reduce time zone and geographical barriers and help the company better understand the needs of its US-based clients, the company said.
AIDC shares gained 0.68 percent to NT$44.3 in Taipei trading on Friday.
Taichung reported the steepest fall in completed home prices among the six special municipalities in the first quarter of this year, data compiled by Taiwan Realty Co (台灣房屋) showed yesterday. From January through last month, the average transaction price for completed homes in Taichung fell 8 percent from a year earlier to NT$299,000 (US$9,483) per ping (3.3m²), said Taiwan Realty, which compiled the data based on the government’s price registration platform. The decline could be attributed to many home buyers choosing relatively affordable used homes to live in themselves, instead of newly built homes in the city’s prime property market, Taiwan Realty
The government yesterday approved applications by Alphabet Inc’s Google to invest NT$27.08 billion (US$859.98 million) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. The Department of Investment Review approved two investments proposed by Google, with much of the funds to be used for data processing and electronic information supply services, as well as inventory procurement businesses in the semiconductor field, the ministry said. It marks the second consecutive year that Google has applied to increase its investment in Taiwan. Google plans to infuse NT$25.34 billion into Charter Investments Ltd (特許投資顧問) through its Singapore-based subsidiary Fructan Holdings Singapore Pte Ltd, and
JET JUICE: The war on Iran’s secondary effects have seen fuel prices skyrocket, knocking flight schedules down to earth in return as airlines struggle with costs Airline passengers should brace for more irritation in the next few months as carriers worldwide cancel flights and ground planes to cope with stratospheric increases in jet-fuel prices. Dutch flag carrier KLM is the latest company to cut its schedule, saying on Thursday that it would scrap 80 return flights at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport in the coming month. That puts it in the same league as United Airlines Holdings Inc, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, which have all pruned itineraries to mitigate costs. Global capacity for next month has been reduced by about 3 percentage points, with all
The US said it plans to help build a first-of-its-kind industrial hub in the Philippines to boost production of inputs crucial to US supply chains. The 4,000-acre hub is intended to be “a purpose-built platform for allied manufacturing” and “an investment acceleration hub where the specific industrial activities are shaped by market demand,” the US Department of State said on Thursday. The project — touted as an “economic security zone” — would be within the Luzon Economic Corridor, a flagship economic project backed by the US and Japan on the main Philippine island. The project was also described as “the first artificial intelligence