Aussie aerospace company flies into Oklahoma thanks to $6 million deal

Ferra Engineering has signed a lucrative deal which has prompted it to set up aerospace manufacturing operations in Oklahoma, US.

Ferra Engineering business unit manager Aaron Thompson told SmartCompany this morning the company has secured an approximately $6 million medium to long-term contract to build weapon pylons and mission kits for aviation company Lockheed Martin.

Thompson says the supply deal with Lockheed Martin had been in the pipeline for two to three years.

“This is exiting as a US presence opens new markets of business for us, and it gives us a competitive edge,” he says. “It creates opportunities for new employment and within the group for career advancement.”

Exports now comprise 70% of the company’s business. The Oklahoma facility is not the first international expansion for the brand, which operates an assembly plant in Los Angeles, stock services in Seattle and a machine shop in Bangalore, India.

The new manufacturing facility is part of a broader international expansion plan for the business.

“Ferra chose to expand to Oklahoma because its central location enables us to easily provide service to our customer base on both coasts and international markets,” Ferra Engineering managing director Mark Scherrer said in a statement.

Thompson says the Brisbane-based company currently employ 150 staff internationally, including 80 employees in the Brisbane head office.

Launched in 1992, Ferra Engineering specialises in the design, manufacture, assembly and testing of aerospace structures and sub-systems. Its customers include Airbus, Boeing and Rolls-Royce.

The company was named Boeing Supplier of the Year for 2011 in the international category.