Valent Aerostructures sees growth

Valent Aerostructures' manufacturing plant in southeast Wichita is a shop in motion.

The company is in the midst of adding equipment, moving machines and reconfiguring the plant at 2853 S. Hillside to help work flow, increase efficiency and add innovation, said Valent chief operating officer and general manager Aaron Allen.

The reconfiguration came out of employee working groups and their request to add a lunchroom, which the site had been lacking.

The idea took off from there.

"We said we're going to blow up the place and start fresh and start moving machines around," Allen said.

That way, "we can utilize management's philosophy of lean manufacturing."

The restructuring is one of several changes taking place since Valent Aerostructures, based in Kansas City, Mo., bought Precision Metalcraft in 2007. Precision Metalcraft had been in business since 1951.

Valent has invested millions of dollars in new machinery and equipment, infrastructure and information technology, said Charlie Newell, a Valent managing partner.

Productivity has more than doubled in the four years Valent has owned the company, and the business has had double-digit growth, he said.

Valent employs 83 in Wichita, up from 70 at the time of the acquisition.

The Wichita facility builds structural components for the commercial and general aviation industries.

Its largest customers are Spirit AeroSystems and Gulfstream Aerospace. The bulk of its products are for Boeing's 737 jetliner.

The Wichita facility's niche is the ability to machine parts up to 120 inches long, Newell said. That will increase to 236 inches in October with the addition of a new five-axis vertical milling machine.

The beginning of Valent was formed in 1996 when Newell and his brother, Henry Newell, began buying manufacturing companies.

They later brought in managing partner Bruce Breckenridge to help run the business, and in 2009 formally consolidated as Valent Aerostructures.

A group of outside companies help provide the financial backing to support customers, Charlie Newell said.

"Whether it's new capital equipment, buildings, adding people or buying material, we can handle that," he said.

Besides Wichita, Valent has manufacturing operations in Fredonia, Tulsa, St. Louis and Dutzow, Mo. It's building an 85,000-square-foot facility in Washington, Mo.

It operates assembly facilities in Cottonwood Falls and Lenexa.

"Today, our customers are no longer asking for parts in assemblies, they're asking for the entire assembly," Charlie Newell said.

Valent's Dutzow plant was honored last week in Everett, Wash., when it was named a Boeing Supplier of the Year. It was one of 16 companies chosen out of 17,524 Boeing suppliers.

The award reflects the service and performance at all Valent facilities, Charlie Newell said.

"It's a great reflection of what Valent is doing," said Henry Newell. "We're really as good as our last delivery from any location."

This story was originally published May 27, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Valent Aerostructures sees growth."