Premium AEROTEC hands over the first front CFRP fuselage section for the A350-1000

Premium AEROTEC's Nordenham site has handed over the complete front fuselage section for the first A350-1000, the biggest version of the A350 XWB long haul aircraft which is largely manufactured from carbon fibre composite material (CFRP), to Airbus. Airbus will incorporate the section into the first -1000 test machine (MSN59). This fuselage section will be completed by a CFRP door frame, bringing significant savings in weight and costs. Delivery of the rear fuselage section from Augsburg is scheduled for the end of September.

"Today marks a further highlight for Premium AEROTEC in the A350 XWB programme. It shows that we are on the way to successfully achieving industrial ramp-up of this programme. My particular thanks go to our customer Airbus for their trusting and excellent collaboration," said Joachim Nägele, Programme Head at Premium AEROTEC, during a small celebration at which 250 staff members were joined by representatives from the customer Airbus.

During the ceremony Matthias Spengler, head of A350 production at Premium AEROTEC, said, "Today's delivery is another conspicuous milestone that we have reached in the ramp-up to production of the most modern aircraft in the world. I would like to thank all those members of staff who have contributed to our successful completion of this, for us, very important step through their outstanding work. The next conspicuous, significant step for the A350-1000 will follow shortly with delivery of the rear fuselage section in Augsburg."

Cord Siefken, Head of the Nordenham site, likewise praised the performance of his staff: "It is great to work with an outstanding team on this superlative aircraft. The staff has delivered excellent work. Thanks to its commitment and the expertise available at our site, we have managed to deliver this demanding section on schedule."

Daniel Wenninger, Programme Head at Airbus for the front and rear fuselage of the A350-1000, was delighted by the excellent quality of the component and the punctual delivery. "In addition to higher loads and the use of new structural technologies, the over three-metres longer fuselage section for the -1000 made considerable modifications in the design and construction necessary compared to its sister model A350-900. The team managed to devise a first-class design for this highly complex aircraft component and to deliver it on time and in the desired high quality. That is something they can be proud of."

With the A350 XWB, Airbus is producing an aircraft which is mainly manufactured from CFRP for the first time. Premium AEROTEC is one of the biggest suppliers for large aircraft components made from this material. While the -900 version, which is almost 67 metres in length, was delivered at the end of last year, Premium AEROTEC began work on production of the -1000 sister model, which is around seven metres longer, in October 2014. Delivery of the aircraft to the first customers is scheduled for 2017.

Premium AEROTEC manufactures the complete front fuselage section 13/14 and the floor structure of section 16/18 at its Nordenham site. In Augsburg, Premium AEROTEC is producing the side shells of the rear fuselage (section 16/18) and the pressure bulkhead. The Varel site is producing the CFRP door frames.

Premium AEROTEC generated revenues of around 1.9 billion euros in 2014. The company’s core business lies in the development and production of metal and carbon fibre composite aircraft structures. The company has manufacturing sites in Augsburg, Bremen, Nordenham and Varel in Germany, as well as in Braşov in Romania.