Park Aerospace Corp. and its subsidiaries (Park) operate as an aerospace company.
The company develops and manufactures solution and hot-melt advanced composite materials used to produce composite structures for the global aerospace markets. Its advanced composite materials include film adhesives and lightning strike materials. Park offers an array of composite materials specifically designed for hand lay-up or automated fiber placement (AFP) manufacturing applications.
Park’s advanced composi...
Park Aerospace Corp. and its subsidiaries (Park) operate as an aerospace company.
The company develops and manufactures solution and hot-melt advanced composite materials used to produce composite structures for the global aerospace markets. Its advanced composite materials include film adhesives and lightning strike materials. Park offers an array of composite materials specifically designed for hand lay-up or automated fiber placement (AFP) manufacturing applications.
Park’s advanced composite materials are used to produce primary and secondary structures for jet engines, large and regional transport aircraft, military aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs commonly referred to as ‘drones’), business jets, general aviation aircraft, and rotary wing aircraft. Park also offers specialty ablative materials for rocket motors and nozzles and specially designed materials for radome applications. As a complement to Park’s advanced composite materials offering, Park designs and fabricates composite parts, structures and assemblies and low-volume tooling for the aerospace industry. Target markets for Park’s composite parts and structures (which include Park’s proprietary composite SigmaStrut and AlphaStrut product lines) are, among others, prototype and development aircraft, special mission aircraft, spares for legacy military and civilian aircraft and exotic spacecraft. Park’s core capabilities are in the areas of polymer chemistry formulation and coating technology.
The company's manufacturing and research and development facilities are located in Newton, Kansas.
Operations
The company designs, develops, and manufactures engineered, advanced composite materials and advanced composite structures and assemblies and low-volume tooling for the aerospace markets and prototype tooling for such structures and assemblies.
The company’s aerospace composite materials are designed, developed, and manufactured at its facility located at the Newton, Kansas Airport. The company’s aerospace composite structures and assemblies and low-volume tooling are also developed and manufactured at its facility located in Newton, Kansas.
Park offers a wide range of aerospace composite materials manufacturing capability, as well as composite structures design, assembly and production capability, all in its Newton facility. Park offers composite aircraft and space vehicle structures design and assembly services, in addition to ‘build-to-print’ services.
Under a Business Partner Agreement with ArianeGroup SAS of Les Mureaux, France, Park is the exclusive North American distributor of ArianeGroup’s RAYCARB C2B NG proprietary product. RAYCARB C2B NG is used to produce ablative composite materials for critical rocketry and missile systems. Park is a long-term customer of ArianeGroup and uses ArianeGroup’s RAYCARB C2B NG product in the production of many of Park’s key ablative materials, which Park supplies into critical rocket and missile programs.
The company works with aerospace original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), such as general aviation aircraft manufacturers and commercial aircraft manufacturers, and certain tier 1 suppliers to qualify its aerospace composite materials or structures and assemblies for use on current and upcoming programs. The company’s customers typically design and specify a material specifically to meet the requirements of the customer’s application and processing methods. Such customers sometimes work with a supplier to develop the specific resin system and reinforcement combination to match the application.
Products
The aerospace composite materials products manufactured by the company includes primarily thermoset curing prepregs. The company has developed proprietary resin formulations to suit the needs of the markets in which it participates by analyzing the needs of the markets and working with its customers. The complex process of developing resin formulations and selecting the proper reinforcement is accomplished through a collaborative effort of the company’s research and development, materials and process engineering and technical sales and marketing resources working with the customers’ technical staff. The company focuses on developing a thorough understanding of its customers’ businesses, product lines, processes, and technical challenges. The company develops innovative solutions, which utilize technologically advanced materials and concepts for its customers.
The company’s aerospace composite materials products include prepregs manufactured from proprietary formulations using modified epoxies, phenolics, polyesters, cyanate esters and polyimides combined with woven, non-woven and unidirectional reinforcements. Reinforcement materials used to produce the company’s products include polyacrylonitrile (PAN) based carbon fiber, E-glass (fiberglass), S2 glass, quartz, aramids, such as Kevlar (‘Kevlar’ is a registered trademark of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.) and Twaron (‘Twaron’ is a registered trademark of Teijin Twaron B.V. LLC)), polyester, and other synthetic materials. The company also sells certain specialty fabrics and prepregs with carbonized rayon fabric reinforcements that are used mainly in the rocket motor industry.
The company’s composite structures and assemblies are manufactured with carbon, fiberglass, and other reinforcements impregnated with formulated resins. The company also provides low-volume tooling in connection with its manufacture and sale of composite structures and assemblies.
Park is the exclusive North American distributor of ArianeGroup’s RAYCARB C2B NG proprietary product. RAYCARB C2B NG is used to produce ablative composite materials for critical rocketry and missile systems.
Customers and End Markets
The company’s aerospace composite materials, structures and assemblies customers include manufacturers of turbofan engines, aircraft primary and secondary structures and radomes. A radome is a protective cover over an electrical antenna or signal generator, designed to minimize signal loss and distortion. Radomes are used in military aircraft, UAVs, business jets and turboprops, large and regional transport aircraft and helicopters, space vehicles, rocket motors and specialty industrial products.
The company’s aerospace composite materials are marketed primarily by sales personnel, and to a lesser extent, by independent distributors. The company’s aerospace composite structures and assemblies are marketed primarily by sales personnel.
The company’s aerospace customers include the fabricators of aircraft composite structures and assemblies. The company’s aerospace composite materials are used by such fabricators and by the company to produce primary and secondary structures, aircraft interiors, and various other aircraft components. The company’s customers for aerospace materials, and the company itself, produce structures and assemblies for commercial aircraft and for the general aviation and business aviation, kit aircraft, special mission, UAVs, and military markets. Many of the company’s composite materials are used in the manufacture of aircraft certified by the Federal Aviation Administration (the ‘FAA’).
Customers for the company’s rocket motor materials include the United States defense prime contractors and subcontractors. These customers fabricate rocket motors for heavy lift space launchers, strategic defense weapons, tactical motors, and various other applications. The company’s materials are used to produce heat shields, exhaust gas management devices and insulative and ablative nozzle components. Rocket motors are primarily used for commercial and military space launch, and for tactical and strategic weapons. The company also has customers for these materials outside of the United States.
End markets include military aircraft, UAVs, business jets and turboprops, large and regional transport aircraft and helicopters, space vehicles, rocket motors, and specialty industrial products. The company’s aerospace composite materials are marketed primarily by sales personnel, and to a lesser extent, by independent distributors. The company’s aerospace composite structures and assemblies are marketed primarily by sales personnel.
During the company’s 2024 fiscal year, 37.7% of the company’s total worldwide net sales were to affiliate and non-affiliate subtier suppliers of GE Aerospace, a leading manufacturer of aerospace engines. During the 2024 fiscal years, sales to no other customer of the company equaled or exceeded 10% of the company’s total worldwide sales.
Materials and Sources of Supply
The company designs and manufactures its aerospace composite materials to its own specifications and to the specifications of its customers. Product development efforts focus on developing prepreg materials that meet the specifications of the customers. The materials used in the manufacture of these engineered materials include graphite and carbon fibers and fabrics, carbonized rayon, aramids (such as Kevlar and Twaron), quartz, fiberglass, polyester, specialty chemicals, resins, films, plastics, adhesives, and certain other synthetic materials. The company purchases these materials from several suppliers.
Trademarks
AEROGLIDE, AEROADHERE, COREFIX, ELECTROGLIDE, ELECTROVEIL, and RADARWAVE are registered trademarks of Park, and ALPHASTRUT, PEELCOTE, and SIGMASTRUT are common law trademarks of Park.
Environmental Matters
The company and certain of its subsidiaries have been named by the Environmental Protection Agency (the ‘EPA’) or a comparable state agency under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (the ‘Superfund Act’) or similar state law as potentially responsible parties in connection with alleged releases of hazardous substances at three sites.
History
The company was founded in 1954 by Jerry Shore. It was incorporated in 1954. The company was formerly known as Park Electrochemical Corp. and changed its name to Park Aerospace Corp. in 2019.