NORDAM to supply anchored honeycomb panels for Airbus A320neo Leap-1A engine inlets

Global aerospace manufacturing leader NORDAM has signed a long term contract to supply Airbus with anchored honeycomb air-inlet panels for the Leap-1A engine used on the A320neo family of aircraft. The agreement will generate several million dollars of annual revenue, with deliveries beginning early next year.

Set for manufacture at the NORDAM Interiors & Structures Division in Tulsa, the air-inlet panels are comprised of graphite-honeycomb composite skins, as well as laminate profiles and fittings. The assembled panels will ship to the Airbus manufacturing facility in Nantes, France for integration into the Leap-1A engine inlet assembly.

"We are delighted to partner with Airbus on the A320neo," NORDAM CEO Meredith Siegfried Madden said at the company's Paris Air Show stand 3-E145. "This is our third and largest Airbus structures award, which aligns perfectly with our strategic plan to grow our commercial high-rate production work with high-end customers, and builds on our long-term relationship with Airbus."

Notably, the panel also is the first A320neo composite component for NORDAM. Other Airbus products manufactured or repaired across all NORDAM divisions include the A350 XWB cargo-floor crutch and A350 XWB over-wing fairing shim; a variety of flight-control surfaces; and a mix of cabin windows, landing-light and wing-tip lenses in use on the A320 and A320neo, A330 and A330neo, A350 XWB and A380.