ATK and Airbus Finalize Agreement on A350 XWB-1000 Variant

ARLINGTON, Va., Jan. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- ATK (NYSE: ATK) has finalized an agreement with Airbus to manufacture and supply composite stringers and frames on the –1000 variant of the A350 XWB program. The contract expansion adds to the work already being performed on the A350 XWB program. This agreement is the next step in ATK's valuable working relationship with Airbus and its partners, Aerolia SAS and Premium Aerotec GmbH.

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"This is another significant milestone in our long-term partnership with Airbus on the A350 XWB program. We are excited about the possibilities that the –1000 variant presents, and our team is eager to continue this journey," said Joy de Lisser, vice president and general manager of ATK's Aerospace Structures division. "Our work with Airbus is an incredibly important component of growth for ATK in the commercial aerospace structures business, as we consistently provide highly engineered solutions for our customers."

ATK is currently producing composite stringers and frames for the A350 XWB-900 and has successfully delivered more than 10,000 parts since the inception of the program. These parts – the equivalent of more than 15 ship sets – are a demonstration of ATK's ability to meet customers' high quality standards and delivery requirements, and ATK is ready to meet planned production rate increases.

The A350 XWB work is performed at ATK's Aircraft Commercial Center of Excellence (ACCE) facility in Clearfield, Utah. This contract expansion will allow ATK to hire additional professional and manufacturing employees, adding to Utah's job market.

ATK's proprietary automated stiffener forming machines (ASFM) have been instrumental in the development and manufacture of high-rate production composite stringers and frames. This highly engineered technology is essential to manufacture the A350 XWB composite stringers and frames, which enables ATK to produce extremely high quality, dimensionally precise and highly repeatable composite components. 

ATK is an aerospace, defense, and commercial products company with operations in 22 states, Puerto Rico, and internationally. News and information can be found on the Internet at www.atk.com, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/atk, or on Twitter @ATK.

Certain information discussed in this press release constitutes forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although ATK believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved. Forward-looking information is subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Among those factors are: future levels of business in the aerospace and commercial transport industries or in the number of aircraft to be built; the success and timely progression of our customers' new programs; the success and timely execution of key certification and delivery milestones; the company's competitive environment; and economic conditions. ATK undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. For further information on factors that could impact ATK, and statements contained herein, please refer to ATK's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE ATK