In its global transparency systems operation, GKN Aerospace is an established supplier to many business aircraft primes including Boeing, Bombardier, Cessna, Dassault, Fairchild, Hawker Beechcraft and Saab. The Company offers extensive technological expertise in applying both plastics and glass for flight deck and passenger windows, special transparencies, and wing tip lenses.

Recent milestones include commencing delivery, in July 2007, of windshields for all production models of the Lear 45. This followed the successful conclusion of a development and qualification program, with certification of the windshield in June 2007. The Company will also support the aftermarket operation for these windshields which are fully interchangeable with the original part. The Lear 45 has one of the largest windshields manufactured for civil aircraft. GKN Aerospace has created a hybrid composite glass and acrylic design which results in a highly reliable windshield with a reduced weight.

GKN Aerospace has also completed the major qualification requirements the cabin windows of the Embraer Phenom Very Light Jet (VLJ). GKN Aerospace has been manufacturing cabin windows for Embraer at its facility in Brazil since 2002 - including windows for the EMB 140, 170 and 190 model regional jets. The Company's product quality and its customer service were both recognised in 2006 by Embraer's award of the accolade 'Hardware Supplier of the Year'. All Embraer windows are laminated stretched acrylic assemblies using the highly successful GKN CrystalVue II T coating technology. CrystalVue IIT offers greater abrasion and chemical resistance than any other acrylic cabin window currently available, maintaining long term visibility through the window pane for the passenger. The window's service life without interim maintenance is also typically 3-4 times longer than other products on the market which substantially reduces maintenance costs to the operator. Today, more than 2 million CrystalVue IIT windows are in service worldwide on aircraft operated by major and regional airlines and 800,000 windows are manufactured each year.

Frank Bamford, Senior VP of Business Development and Strategy comments: "Our transparencies business is one of our core activities and one where we are aiming for strong growth in the next decade as we drive to meet our strategic plan and double our sales. Meeting and anticipating the needs of our customers, such as Bombardier and Embraer, in the growing business aviation sector, with their desire to innovate to improve aircraft performance and reduce operating costs, is of vital importance to us in our transparencies operation as it is across our aero-structures and aero-engines businesses."

Editor's Note: GKN Aerospace is the aerospace operation of GKN plc (LSE:GKN), one of the world's largest engineering companies. GKN Aerospace serves a global customer base with some 7250 personnel operating in North and South America, Australia, the Asia Pacific and Europe and offering 24 hour 'follow the sun' engineering. With sales of $1.5bn, the business is focused around three major product areas - aerostructures, propulsion systems and transparencies, plus a number of specialist product areas - electro-thermal ice protection, fuel and flotation systems, and bullet resistant glass. The business is equally split along military and civil lines with participation on all major aircraft programmes today exceeding $1m per ship set. GKN Aerospace is a major supplier of complex composite structures; offers one of the most comprehensive capabilities in high performance metallics processing and is the world leading supplier of cockpit transparencies and passenger cabin windows.