Kaman to Celebrate Grand Opening of New Tooling Facility in United Kingdom

BLOOMFIELD, Conn., U.S.A.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

A recent visit by Rt. Hon. Vince Cable, the U.K. Secretary of State for Business, is the first in a series of high-profile events at Kaman's new $4.2M (£2.5M) U.K.-based tooling and manufacturing facility. “Kaman's expansion and continued success is one of the encouraging signs of growth in Burnley,” said Business Secretary Cable after touring the facility. “We are now seeing businesses having the confidence to invest and create highly skilled jobs from the local workforce. We'll continue to work in partnership with business as part of the government's industrial strategy.”

Next up - a Grand Opening event at the 34,000 square-foot (3,160 square meters) Tooling Center of Excellence in Burnley, Lancashire, U.K. on Thursday, May 29th. This purpose-built facility was designed and equipped to meet the increased size requirements of modern aircraft structures assembly tooling, including a new 20 meter 5 axis CNC milling machine capable of machining the largest aerospace tools, and a 6 meter coordinate measuring machine used for advanced and complex high-precision digital inspection.

The Tooling Center of Excellence will also be one of the few in the U.K. equipped with a state-of-the-art design suite for enhanced design and manufacturing. The new facility will considerably increase the capacity of Kaman Tooling, already a world-leading supplier of mold and assembly tooling, along with ground support and handling equipment. The opening of the new facility will create a number of new jobs in the next two years as Kaman continues its relocation from its former U.K. location at Darwen to Burnley's Innovation Park.

“The site will continue to expand, and will increase to 64,000 square feet (5,950 square meters) in 2015, creating up to 50 new jobs,” said Mark Podmore, managing director of Kaman Tooling Ltd., part of the Aerosystems Division of Kaman Aerospace.

With the technologically advanced facility, Kaman Tooling's customers will benefit from quick turnaround time, efficient operations, from large size machining and inspection equipment, and an overall significantly improved process.

About Kaman

Kaman Aerospace Group is a segment of Kaman Corporation KAMN founded in 1945 by aviation pioneer Charles H. Kaman. Headquartered in Bloomfield, Connecticut, Kaman Corporation conducts business in the aerospace and industrial distribution markets. The company produces and/or markets widely used proprietary aircraft bearings and components; complex metallic and composite aerostructures for commercial, military and general aviation fixed and rotary wing aircraft; aerostructure engineering design analysis and FAA certification services; safe and arm solutions for missile and bomb systems for the U.S. and allied militaries; subcontract helicopter work; and support for the company's SH-2G Super Seasprite maritime helicopters and K-MAX medium-to-heavy lift helicopters. Additionally, the company is a leading distributor of industrial parts, and operates more than 200 customer service centers and five distribution centers across North America. Kaman offers more than four million items including bearings, mechanical power transmission, electrical, material handling, motion control, fluid power, automation and MRO supplies to customers in virtually every industry. Kaman also provides engineering, design and support for automation, electrical, linear, hydraulic and pneumatic systems as well as belting and rubber fabrication, customized mechanical services, hose assemblies, repair, fluid analysis and motor management. More information is available at www.kaman.com.