Aerospace original equipment manufacturers (OEM) in the U.S. Pacific Northwest will soon have a nearby source of precision-formatted composite materials from Web Industries Inc. The company has unveiled plans for a new plant near Seattle that will help aerospace manufacturers, including Boeing, to optimize supply chains and dramatically cut shipping time and inventory.

Situated on 12 acres in Marysville, Wash., the new production facility will supply composite slit tape for the Boeing 777X and position Web to provide responsive formatting services to other businesses in the region.

The plant is expected to be operational following construction, equipment qualification and employee training. It is located close to Boeing's final assembly plant in Everett, Wash., and supplier Toray Composite Materials America's (CMA) processing facility in Tacoma, Wash.

"Our new composites formatting facility is the realization of our commercial commitment to Toray and Boeing," says Web Industries President and CEO Mark Pihl. "By providing localized manufacturing to support the 777X, Boeing and Toray are expected to see improved affordability and sustainable competitive advantages. There are benefits associated with lower transportation, packaging and inventory costs, as well as reduced lead times. We look forward to the innovation and continuous improvement focus that will come with close collaboration."

The new plant will reduce freight transportation time between Web and Boeing facilities to less than 30 minutes and to roughly two hours between Web and Toray. The materials currently make a cross-country journey by freezer truck.

Boeing could realize additional benefits via inventory savings. Web now ships formatted tapes to Boeing twice per month. When the new plant is operational, smaller shipments will be delivered as often as twice per day, which will require less handling and storage at Boeing. The expectation is to achieve a just in time service model.

Toray, too, will enjoy advantages associated with Web's new nearby location. "Web has been a long-standing partner of Toray and enabled us to expand our product portfolio of advanced materials with great results, says Don Myers, director of aerospace sales, Toray CMA. "We look forward to continuing our work with Web Industries as they start up their facility in Marysville."

The manufacturing site, which will house:

75,000 square feet for Web's custom-built precision slitting, winding and spooling operations;

Space to add product development and composite material ply cutting and kitting services.

"Web will profit by adding value to our existing products and services and gaining entree to new business opportunities with aerospace manufacturing companies throughout the Northwest region," says Pihl. "With our technical resources based locally, we will offer the ability to collaborate on new business development and help our customers enable their own growth strategies."