Dive Brief:
- Boeing has acquired a GKN Aerospace parts facility scheduled to close by year’s end, the aircraft maker announced on April 26.
- The company bought the Hazelwood, Missouri, plant, which produces and supplies composite and metallic aerostructure parts to Boeing, Sikorsky, Bell Textron and Lockheed Martin.
- Under Boeing’s ownership, the Hazelwood site will retain approximately 550 employees. Boeing will also transition the factory’s capabilities and operations to support Boeing’s F/A-18 and F-15 fighter jet programs. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Dive Insight:
Boeing’s acquisition resolves ongoing lawsuits between the aircraft giant and GKN Aerospace’s parent company Melrose Industries, a Boeing spokesperson told Manufacturing Dive in an email.
Boeing previously owned the Hazelwood facility about 20 years ago and sold it to the UK-based company. However, the factory caused friction between Boeing and GKN Aerospace, since the latter exclusively produces critical parts to assemble Boeing’s F/A-18 and F-15 fighter jets.
When GKN Aerospace announced plans to close the Hazelwood facility in 2022, Boeing filed a lawsuit, accusing the parts maker of breaching the contract by failing to make a profit from the plant. The case was moved to federal court in February and dismissed on April 25.
“This agreement allows us to not only deliver for our customers, but also gives the highly skilled GKN workforce the opportunity to bring their immense talents to bear in support of the warfighter and the St. Louis defense and aerospace industry,” Steve Parker, SVP and COO of Boeing Defense, Space and Security, said in a statement.
The defense contractor is working on completing the new-build production of its F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter aircraft for the U.S. Navy by next year, according to a February 2023 release. And in March, the Navy awarded Boeing a $1.3 billion contract for 17 of the jets with final delivery expected in Spring 2027.
The Hazelwood plant acquisition increases Boeing’s presence in the St. Louis area’s aerospace and defense sector, which also hosts Leonardo DRS, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman.
The company already has 16,000 employees in the region and has invested $700 million into its St. Louis infrastructure over the past decade, including new design and build techniques to facilitate processes and improve quality, the spokesperson said.
Boeing has several different expansion projects underway in the St. Louis metropolitan area. In August 2023, Boeing proposed Project Voyager, a $1.8 billion project to support the aircraft maker’s new aerospace programs.
The project includes two sites, one in Berkeley, Missouri, and the other in St. Louis County, with multiple facilities totaling 1 million square feet. Both sites will be located close to the St. Louis Lambert International Airport. The project is expected to create 500 jobs by 2027, according to the proposal.
Currently, Boeing plans to build three new facilities in the area, the spokesperson said. In May 2023, the aircraft maker began construction on a 47,500-square-foot advanced coatings center that will be run by Phantom Works, Boeing’s defense, space and security’s R&D and prototype division. The center is expected to open next year.
