Flow International Corp. reports it has earned a contract to build and install a composite machining center abrasive waterjet and routing machine tool system for a single-aisle airframe program. The developer and manufacturer of industrial waterjet machines value the order at over $5 million.
"Over the past decade, waterjets have become the standard for meeting the aerospace industry's production requirements as lighter weight composites have become the preferred material,” stated Flow International president and CEO Charley Brown. “Flow is uniquely positioned to serve this segment through our deep experience and innovative technology as evidenced by the equipment we have been and are supplying to major wide body airframe programs."
Brown said the order represents “a significant step into the future as the industry begins moving to composites for single-aisle and regional aircraft."
The CEO said Flow expects its first-quarter revenue will be close to $38 million, compared to fourth-quarter 2008 revenue of $43.7 million. Though the reporting period had not closed yet, Brown said the company expects business trends will continue according to its projections, that revenue in the first quarter would be about 10% versus the previous quarter.
“However, we are encouraged by our standard systems order book, which is beginning to build in several key markets. We anticipate our first quarter gross margins will be approximately 38%, which is in line with the low end of our previous projections,” Brown stated.