qhl commences aircraft parts manufacturing

QUICKSTEP COMMENCES AIRCRAFT PARTS
MANUFACTURING AT AUSTRALIAN HEADQUARTERS
• Quickstep commences manufacturing of aircraft parts at its Fremantle headquarters, representing
the first aircraft parts to be produced by the Company in Australia.
• New, state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment currently being installed at the Fremantle facility
to underpin international aerospace manufacturing contracts.
• Three senior production staff recruited to Quickstep’s Australian team from Airbus, providing
significant additional aerospace expertise.
International advanced composites group Quickstep Holdings Limited (ASX: QHL – “Quickstep”) has hit
the ground running in 2008, today announcing the commencement of aircraft parts manufacturing at its
Australian headquarters located in Fremantle, Western Australia – marking the first stage in establishing the
site as a fully equipped, world-class aerospace manufacturing facility.
Quickstep said today (Thursday) that, while specific details of the manufacturing contract are confidential, the
Company has responsibility for all aspects of the production engineering, tooling, manufacture and inspection
of the composite aircraft components. It is expected that the parts will be certificated by Australia’s Civil
Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) in the first half of the 2008 calendar year, and will be installed and flying
shortly afterward.
The parts will be manufactured using AGATE qualified carbon/epoxy materials from Toray Composites
(America) Inc. and Rohacell foam cores from Evonik Röhm GmbH.
Quickstep’s Managing Director, Mr Nick Noble, said the commencement of aircraft parts manufacturing in
Australia was a watershed event for the Company.
“Our Fremantle headquarters are being re-engineered into a world-class aerospace manufacturing facility and
we are now officially open for business – representing a major achievement for the Company,” he said. “It has
necessarily been a lengthy procedure to prepare Quickstep for aerospace manufacturing, so we are delighted to
have our first production contract underway in Australia, and will now look towards further enhancing our
Fremantle facility to build a full scale aerospace manufacturing operation before the end of 2008.”
Recent $17M Capital Raising Underpins Aerospace Drive
As part of the Company’s efforts to prepare the Fremantle site for aerospace parts manufacturing, Quickstep
has utilised part of the funds raised through the $17 million ($AU) capital raising completed in November
2007, to purchase a range of new state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment that will position the site as a
world-class aerospace manufacturing facility.
The hub of the Fremantle site’s capability is a new CATIA Computer Aided Design (CAD) system, which
allows direct data transfer to and from customers, and which has been fully integrated into Quickstep’s
production engineering and inspection systems. The CATIA system is used by aerospace giants including
Boeing, Airbus and Eurocopter, as well as many automotive companies.
In addition, a Leica Laser Tracker was delivered to the facility last week from Switzerland, providing Quickstep
with the latest technology to measure and inspect patterns, tooling and manufactured parts and compare them
against the CAD master geometry.
A number of additional items are currently on order, including three autoclaves, a Breton five axis machining
centre, and a range of other smaller pieces of plant and equipment.
The autoclaves will be used to complement the Quickstep Process, and will include two 10m long x 3m
diameter vessels used for manufacturing a combination of carbon composite tooling and production parts. A
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smaller 5m long x 2.4m diameter unit will be used to manufacture specialised silicon diaphragms for the
Quickstep Process and advanced composite manufacture. The autoclaves are due to be delivered in June 2008.
The Breton five axis machining centre will have a working envelope of 4.5m x 2.5m x 1.5m, and is believed to
be one of the most accurate of its kind in Western Australia. It will enable in-house manufacture of patterns
and tooling vital to composite manufacture and provide the capability to machine highly complex geometries
demanded by aerospace and automotive applications. This machine will be delivered to Quickstep in the third
quarter of 2008.
“This new machinery will cement Quickstep’s Fremantle headquarters as a fully equipped, world class
aerospace manufacturing centre,” Mr Noble said.
Key New Appointments Announced from Airbus UK
To underpin the commencement of aerospace manufacturing, Quickstep has recently appointed three senior
production staff members, all recruited from Airbus in the UK.
Mr Keith Brand has been appointed Clean Room Team Leader and Mr Sean Scammell has been appointed
as his assistant. Together, they have over 50 years’ experience in aerospace composites manufacturing. Both
Mr Brand and Mr Scammell have spent the last 10 years with Airbus, focused on the development of new
technologies for the manufacture of composite wing structures.
Mr Brand and Mr Scammell will join Quickstep from the beginning of February 2008.
A third representative from Airbus has been recruited to the role of Senior Production Manager, and will join
the Quickstep team in March. He has extensive experience in aerospace manufacture, jig and tool design, and
process management and played a key role in implementing technology into the emerging markets of China
and Eastern Europe. His initial focus will be to implement the stringent processes and controls required for
aerospace manufacturing.
Mr Noble said that these appointments will provide significant additional depth to the Company’s aerospace
expertise, and provide invaluable manufacturing know-how as the Company targets further manufacturing
contracts for its Australian facility.
“These new team members bring significant experience in the application of composites technologies in the
aerospace sector,” he said. “I am delighted to welcome them to Quickstep at this exciting time for the Group,
and I look forward to their significant contribution as we ramp up our aerospace manufacturing activities.”