Albany Engineered Composites, a segment of Albany International Corp. (NYSE: AIN), and A&P Technology, a global leader in precision braided composite reinforcement technologies, announced today that they are partnering to explore and develop advanced braided composite manufacturing solutions for both current and next-generation aerospace and defence applications.

The collaboration brings together two highly complementary manufacturing technologies, A&P Technology's industry-leading braided composite architectures and Albany Engineered Composites' advanced Resin Transfer Molding (RTM) manufacturing expertise, to accelerate the industrialisation of lightweight, highly integrated composite structures capable of supporting future commercial and defence aircraft production requirements.

"Future aerospace platforms demand manufacturing technologies capable of simultaneously improving performance, reducing recurring cost and scaling to production rates the industry has not previously achieved," said Chris Stone, president of Albany Engineered Composites. "By combining A&P Technology's deep expertise in advanced braiding with Albany's industry-leading RTM capabilities, we are creating a force multiplier for our customers, accelerating the transition from innovative textile architectures to repeatable, production-ready composite solutions."

The companies intend to collaborate on research, technology development, manufacturing process maturation and commercialisation opportunities focused on purpose-designed braided composite structures for current and next generation aeroengine platforms, commercial aircraft, Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) blades and structures, Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), and solid rocket motor nozzles.

"It's a privilege to collaborate with Albany given their broad and deep design and manufacturing skill and know how built on decades of success making parts for the most demanding applications," says Andy Head, president of A&P Technology. "Together, we can offer composite solutions not only at enabling rate but also with enabling cost and performance benefits. We look forward to meeting customer challenges together."

As aerospace manufacturers increasingly seek larger integrated composite structures, reducing assembly complexity while enabling higher production rates, braided composite preforms combined with automated RTM processing provide an attractive pathway toward scalable manufacturing.

"Our customers are looking beyond individual manufacturing processes, they're looking for integrated solutions," said Brent Stevenson, vice president of emerging markets and technology at Albany Engineered Composites. "Braiding and RTM are naturally complementary technologies. Together, they enable highly engineered composite architectures supporting complex geometries, efficient manufacturing and production scalability for both current and next-generation aerospace and defence platforms."