Northwest Aerospace News December 2018 | January 2019 Issue No. 6 | Page 35

M
oving forward in the Boeing 787 cabin past first class, the wall
separating the cabin from the flight deck is infused with a bullet-proof
blanket that is made at Multifab.
It consists of multiple layers of protective material similar to that found
in a bulletproof vest. The curtains separating first class from coach class
are sewn at Multifab. On a trip to the lavatory (always fun on a moving
aircraft), you might see a thermoformed toilet shroud from Multifab. On
the flight deck, behind the control/instrument panels you’d see a con-
densation shield keeping water from dripping into the aircraft. In total,
Multifab builds 15 part numbers on the Boeing 737 flight deck alone.
According to a spokesman, Multifab is one of the top heavy gauge ther-
moforming companies in the industry. Heavy gauge thermoforming is
very specialized and is differentiated by thickness and volume from thin
gauge thermoforming (such as that found in vacuum formed clamshell
packaging which protect all sorts of consumer products.)
The company was formed in 1987 with a focus on the food service
industry, producing bulk food equipment for grocery stores — bins
holding bulk wasabi peas, carob chips, nuts and other healthy fare. Next,
they received a national contract to make lottery-dispensing machines,
spending time in that industry for about 15 years.
Now, a good percentage of their business is aerospace related and is
handled by about 200 employees — the aerospace side consumes about
75 percent of their invoicing. From machinists to skilled thermoform-
ing technicians to industrial sewers and engineers, Multifab is a diverse
organization. They serve other industries as well, such as: medical/dental
device manufacturing, construction, industrial packaging, transportation,
sporting goods, and specialty products.
They are a Tier 2 supplier serving other Tier 2s, and Tier 1 suppliers
around the world. A current international project is for a major aircraft
interiors company in France.
The factory is no-nonsense. It is industrial and packed with expensive
production equipment. It is a working factory, not boasting a fancy
showroom, but ready to quote a solid project that will pass the rigors of
aerospace quality assurance.
Wes Yandt, engineering manager, said, “We
compete na-
tionwide and worldwide; most of our work comes
through contract bidding.” He added, “A big arrow in
our quiver is pressure forming.” Yandt shared that they are
one of the top aerospace pressure forming companies in the world. Other
companies can produce a similar product, like a seat back for example.
But with pressure forming, the design can be more complex and have
much greater detail than other processes.
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