Page 32 - Innovation Delaware 2018

BY ROGER MORRIS
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ADVANCED
MATERIALS/ FMANUFACTURING
or more than a century, the Delaware CEO Jason Field. Recent moves have included the manufacturing scene was dominated by a few establishment of an innovation hub where Gore major international companies, especially the scientists work with startups on solving advanced homegrown DuPont. Although DowDuPont, materials challenges.
the recently merged corporation of former In fact, much of the excitement is in the startup competitors, will continue to play a major role in the field, where one innovative person or a handful of people
state’s economy, our manufacturing landscape today is rich in its diversity.
Newark-based powerhouse W.L. Gore is poised for growth and an exciting new direction under new
have a great idea for a product and find within Delaware a nurturing environment of support organizations that helps find the space, financing and business counseling needed to prosper. Two great starting points are the
A Rich Tradition of Manufacturing Shows No Signs of Slowing Down
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ALOFT AeroArchitects
COMPANY TO WATCH
If you’ve ever flown on one of Boeing’s new 737 Max 8 aircraft, which
were launched two years ago, chances are that your plane spent a few days inside a gigantic hangar at Georgetown’s Delaware Coastal Airport before you stepped on board.
“We build and install [the planes’] auxiliary fuel systems in our hangars,” says ALOFT AeroArchitects CEO ROBERT SUNDIN, “and
30 DelawareBusinessTimes.com
then they fly them back
to Boeing in Seattle.” When ALOFT works
on the aircraft, they are considered “green,” which means they have been flight tested but not yet totally outfitted for airline service, Sundin explains. In total, the ALOFT hangars at Delaware Coastal Airport can handle about seven to nine of the large aircraft at one time.
With current sales of
about $60 million dollars, Sundin says that business is definitely looking up for the aerospace company founded about 40 years ago as PATS Aircraft Systems. ALOFT opened its Georgetown
facilities in 1998. In addition to airplanes used in civilian air traffic, ALOFT also installs auxiliary tank systems for the U.S. Air Force.
“We expect to have revenue of about $100
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