Northwest Aerospace News August | September Issue No. 10 | Page 42

New Sumner Layup Room
B
usiness growth in volume, capabilities and product
lines is a positive thing. However, with growth over an
extended period, sometimes a master facilities plan can
be a challenge. In the case of AIM Aerospace it meant
the addition of four locations, including the corporate
headquarters in Renton, Washington, totaling 500,000
square feet.
Jon Evans, senior vice president of business development,
strategy and R&D said, “It’s like building a house and
adding storage sheds for more space.” With continued
growth during 30-plus years in manufacturing, by January
2019 AIM had five locations — three in Washington
(Auburn, Sumner and Renton); Orange City, Iowa; and
Poway, California.
The immediate plan for the Auburn facility is to con-
solidate the six separate buildings that made up Auburn
campus, into their Sumner location, by reconfiguring the
facility layout, transferring and hiring new workers and
adding additional shifts.
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NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS
Evans said, “We have made a 12 million dollar investment
into the Sumner location to realign the facility for lean man-
ufacturing to improve efficiencies and integrate the work
from Auburn.”
Additionally, AIM’s Iowa facility has Industry 4.0 technol-
ogy and processes that they will replicate in the Sumner
and Renton plants. They will also close the Research and
Technology Center (RTC) in Poway, California and move
those functions to Renton, Washington to work more closely
with the production and engineering teams.
In order to develop a facility like the one in Iowa, Evans
says they are investing in material handling systems, state-
of-the-art product layout systems, and increasing throughput
and efficiency in material kitting, layup, part curing, machin-
ing, and inspection. They are striving to create a digital fac-
tory model across the business that is data driven, to make
decisions regarding flow and capacity which will result in a
more lean and competitive offering to their customers.