Advanced composites manufacturer, Teledyne CML Composites is celebrating their new autoclave, Elsa, entering into service. This milestone was driven by the award from Airbus, Europe's leading aircraft manufacturer, to the Wirral-based supplier with a package of composite component parts for the new A350-series airliner.

Elsa is the third autoclave to be commissioned since the opening of the facility in 2011. She sits proudly next to sister units, Lucy and Amanda and will bring a welcomed boost to the capacity of this fast-growing aerospace composites manufacturer.

General Manager, John Toner, explained, "We are proud of the efforts of all those involved in commissioning Elsa and thrilled that her entry into service coincides so well with the contract award on this ground breaking new aircraft programme. Our first award on this aircraft programme, we believed early on that there was the need to illustrate our commitment to this package and an investment in autoclave capacity sent all the right signals".

Teledyne CML Composites is currently enjoying a period of significant growth, with sales expected to double in the next two years. The use of composite materials in industry is growing significantly, particularly in the aerospace sector, where this rate has doubled every five years since 1987 as designers continuously seek to find improvements to the performance, range and payload through weight reduction of the next generation of aircraft, whether commercial or military.

The Teledyne CML Composites facility was purpose built to support the high volume manufacture of composite component parts. As part of a vision for the future, the facility was designed to accommodate several autoclaves, with plans in place to secure the next autoclave to accompany those already in place.