Quickstep Holdings Limited, the manufacturer of high-grade carbon-fibre components, today announced that it has delivered the first ship set of C-130J wing flaps to global security and aerospace company, Lockheed Martin. Quickstep was awarded the tender to manufacture wing flaps for Lockheed Martin's C-130J Super Hercules aircraft in March 2012 and signed a U.S. $75 million memorandum of agreement (MOA) in December 2013.

The delivery, completed ahead of schedule, is the first of 24 ship sets of wing flaps to be manufactured by Quickstep under an initial U.S. $12 million purchase order which is included in the MOA. The ship sets will be delivered at an approximate rate of two ship sets per month. This milestone also represents completion of the non-recurring preliminary contract awarded to Quickstep in August 2012.

Quickstep has also secured a second purchase order under the MOA valued at U.S. $9.8 million from Lockheed Martin. This order covers manufacture and delivery of 12 further ship sets beginning in the first half of 2015. 

“Delivery of the first C-130J wing flaps ahead of schedule marks an important milestone for Quickstep. This demonstrates our ability to provide high volume carbon-fibre composites manufacturing for complex international supply chains,” said Philippe Odouard, Quickstep managing director. “We are delighted to receive a further purchase order from Lockheed Martin, which is a cornerstone client for us. This provides greater certainty for Quickstep. Over the life of the agreement, we will supply 120 ship sets of carbon-fibre flaps through to 2018.”

Every C-130J ship set has four wing flaps, which each include more than 200 individual parts including carbon ribs, spars and skins. Quickstep manufactures these components at its Bankstown Airport aerospace facility, and has already built a team of more than 40 skilled personnel to service the project.

The Lockheed Martin C-130J wing flaps program is one of two significant aerospace programs awarded to Quickstep, which is also producing components for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter program.

The C-130J is operated by 16 countries and is the latest model of the C-130J Super Hercules military transport aircraft which has been in continuous production for more than 60 years.