February 2010
THERMAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION COMPLETES A LARGE AUTOCLAVE SYSTEM FOR HITCO CARBON COMPOSITES
Thermal Equipment Corporation (TEC) recently completed the manufacture and installation of a very large 20’ diameter by 50’ long aerospace quality Autoclave System for HITCO Carbon Composites in Gardena, CA.
“TEC is honored to have worked closely with HITCO as the supplier for this system, which is critical to their continued growth in the production of AeroStructures”, said Lee Courtney, President of TEC. “We look forward to continuing to work with HITCO on their future expansion plans as well.” This 20' diameter Autoclave Sysem is the largest in HITCO's Autoclave collection and adds HITCO to a list of only a handful of companies worldwide with systems of this size.
This latest HITCO system represents the second installation for TEC of this diameter installed in 2009. This continues to demonstrate that TEC, with more installations of 20' diameter and above than all of our competitors in the world combined, is the right choice for these larger systems.
TEC’s manufacturing facility is located in Los Angeles. However, this Autoclave System was built on-site by a TEC field crew at HITCO’s facility in Gardena, due to its large size and shipping limitations.
January 2010
THERMAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION COMPLETES ANOTHER LARGE AUTOCLAVE SYSTEM FOR SPIRIT AEROSYSTEMS
Thermal Equipment Corporation (TEC) has completed the manufacture and installation of a large 20’ diameter by 70’ long aerospace quality Autoclave System for Spirit AeroSystems in Tulsa, OK.
“TEC is honored to have been selected again by Spirit as the supplier for this system, which is critical to the continued growth in their production of composite AeroStructures”, said Lee Courtney, President of TEC. “These very large projects are exciting for TEC and this marks our completion of two such 20’ diameter Autoclave Systems during 2009 alone.”
Spirit AeroSystems has now purchased more than 30 Autoclave Systems from TEC over the years, and this 20’ x 70’ system includes the largest Autoclave Vessel in their collection of such systems at their Tulsa facility.
TEC’s manufacturing facility is located in Los Angeles. This Autoclave System was built on-site at Spirit’s facility in Tulsa, however, due to its size and shipping limitations.
October 2008
THERMAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION RECEIVES ORDER FROM SPIRIT AEROSYSTEMS FOR ANOTHER LARGE AEROSPACE AUTOCLAVE SYSTEM
WICHITA, KS: Spirit AeroSystems has awarded Thermal Equipment Corporation the large Autoclave System contract to be used in the manufacture of structural components for the new Airbus A350 XWB airplane.
“TEC is honored to be part of the Spirit AeroSystems team on this project,” said Lee Courtney, President of Thermal Equipment Corporation (TEC). “This order is yet another example of TEC’s credibility in the supply of very large Aerospace Autoclave Systems, which has become TEC’s specialty. It’s what we do and we do it better than anyone else in our industry.”
An Autoclave is essentially a pressurized oven used to cure composite structures. The Autoclave ordered by Spirit AeroSystems will have usable dimensions of 22’ in diameter by 80’ long.
Due to its extraordinary size and weight, the Autoclave vessel itself will be built on-site at the home of Spirit AeroSystems’ new facility in Kinston, North Carolina.
About Thermal Equipment Corporation
Thermal Equipment Corporation (TEC) is the world’s largest manufacturer of custom engineered Aerospace quality Autoclave and Press Systems. Headquartered in Rancho Dominguez, California (near Los Angeles), TEC specializes in the field build of very large Autoclave and Press Systems and supports its world wide Customer base with extensive Service and Spare Parts businesses. Visit TEC at www.thermalequipment.com.
About Spirit AeroSystems Inc.
Based in Wichita, Kan., Spirit AeroSystems is the world’s largest independent supplier of large component parts and assemblies for commercial aircraft. The company does work in military and general aviation, as well as aftermarket customer support. In addition to its Kansas facility, Spirit has operations in Tulsa and McAlester, Okla., Prestwick, Scotland, and Samlesbury, England.
August 2008
Thermal Equipment Corporation is pleased to announce our relocation to a 45,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility in Rancho Dominguez.
Thermal Equipment Corporation
2030 East University Drive
Rancho Dominguez, CA 90220
August 2004
THERMAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION RECEIVES LETTER OF INTENT FROM MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIED FOR A LARGE AUTOCLAVE FOR THE BOEING 787
NAGOYA, JAPAN: Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has issued their letter of intent to Thermal Equipment Corporation’s agent in Japan, Murakami Jitsugyo, for a large Autoclave System to be used in the manufacture of the wing for the new 7E7 Dreamliner aircraft.
“TEC is honored to have this opportunity to extend our contribution to the 7E7 program”, said Greg Smythe, VP of Sales for TEC. “We recently completed our preliminary design review in Wichita for our contract to provide Boeing’s first large Autoclave System for the 7E7, and the timing of MHI’s LOI couldn’t be better.”
An Autoclave is a pressurized oven used to cure composite structures. The 7E7 is slated to have the most composite structures of any other commercial aircraft. This extremely large autoclave for MHI will weigh in excess of a million pounds.
Thermal Equipment Corporation has manufacturing facilities in Torrance, CA, however this autoclave will be built on-site in Japan based on its incredible size required to process the entire wing as one single piece.
June 2004
THERMAL EQUIPMENT CORPORATION RECEIVES ORDER FROM BOEING FOR THE FIRST LARGE AUTOCLAVE FOR THE 787
WICHITA, KS: Boeing has awarded the first large Autoclave contract to be used in the manufacture of parts for the new 7E7 Dreamliner to Thermal Equipment Corporation (TEC).
“TEC is elated and honored to be part of the 7E7 team”, said Greg Smythe, VP of Sales for TEC. “It is a very exciting time in TEC’s history.”
An autoclave is a pressurized oven used to cure composite structures. The 7E7 is slated to have the most composite structures of any other commercial aircraft. The Autoclave System ordered by Boeing is thought to be one of the largest in history with usable dimensions of 30’ x 60’ and weighing in at over 800,000 pounds.
Thermal Equipment Corporation has manufacturing facilities near Torrance, CA, however this Autoclave will be built on-site in Wichita based on its size.