Aerospace Takes Off Again

The stories are rampant.

The Boeing Co. plans to double production, pushing an aircraft a day out of a Boeing hangar.
The market for business jets is exploding.

Product liability reform has re-opened the door for small aircraft production.
But while the aerospace industry is enjoying an unprecedented rebirth, it comes after a decade of intense consolidation and relatively few expansion projects. Ten years ago, the country boasted nearly a dozen major airframers — Rockwell, Boeing, Lockheed, General Dynamics, Northrop, Grumman, McDonell, Douglas Aircraft.

Today, Rockwell is in the process of divesting its defense/aircraft operations to Boeing. McDonnell bought Douglas, and now Boeing is bidding for McDonnell Douglas in the nation?s largest corporate deal ever.
Northrop and Grumman are one. General Dynamics was bought by Boeing. Bombardier purchased Learjet. Only United Technologies and Bell Helicopter Textron remain independent, though teamed with other giants to gain major government contracts.

The same type of consolidation is under way among the second-tier companies. Martin Marietta and Loral now are part of Lockheed Martin. Raytheon has deals on the table to buy Texas Instruments Defense Electronics and Hughes Aircraft.

Additional consolidation is expected, and it will continue to impact facility location in the aerospace industry. New ventures in major airframing plants are still rare, but facility locations are on the rise in smaller operations.

Aerospace, of course, includes satellite production and space products ranging from space stations to lasers. Business in that sector is booming, and many of today?s aerospace success stories come from companies that have branched out to develop all new markets, based on technological and manufacturing capability. SS