“If I call you at 7:30 p.m. on a Friday evening, will you answer the phone and get my parts delivered to me on time?” In a manufacturing ecosystem subject to tariffs, bad weather and port congestion, South Carolina firms along the supply chains of a BMW,…
The Future of Aerospace I admit it, I am a Trekkie. Yeah, Star Wars was OK, but I always preferred the original Star Trek. Watching this show in my younger years, combined with seeing nearly every single NASA rocket launch and the first moon landing triggered my…
An aerospace retrospective with KTM Solution’s Paul Kumler I recently attended an SC Aerospace Advisory Board meeting where a preliminary supply chain study report was presented. The report was generated to understand the impact of the aerospace supply chain in South Carolina. I found one statistic particularly…
Recently, South Carolina Manufacturing (SCMFG) sat down with Chris Urban, the general manager of Meyer Tool in Greenville, to discuss the company’s growth and success in South Carolina. As companies grow or look to expand their footprint in state or out, it is critical these manufacturers create…
The US Air Force T-X advanced jet trainer competition is in the final stages of source selection with an award expected in the first quarter 2018. It is seen by many as a contest between two aircraft, the existing Lockheed Martin/Korean Air T-50 and The Boeing/Saab T-X…
Like the textile industry in the 1930s, aerospace manufacturing in the Southeast is a booming industry, having grown primarily because of private equity. And prospects for the future are rosy, given the availability of private capital to invest in what some feel is a sure thing. Since…
After years of troubling news about performance and cost overruns, Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program has received a vote of approval from the United States Air Force. On August 2, the Air Force declared the F-35A “combat ready.” With a rating of IOC (Initial Operations Capability), the Air…
Named in honor of a South Carolina native and Challenger astronaut, the Ronald E. McNair Center for Aerospace Innovation was founded in 2011 at the University of South Carolina with donations from Darla Moore, Anita Zucker and Marva Smalls. After just five years of the Center being…
Meeting the air transportation needs of international companies in the Upstate is up to airlines, not GSP, officials said. Despite a growing base of international companies in the Upstate, Greenville Spartanburg International Airport does not provide non-stop access to international locations. But filling that need, if it…
The U.S. Air Force departed Donaldson Air Force Base 53 years ago. Since that time, the aviation industry in this area has seen significant growth as demonstrated by the establishment of Lockheed Martin’s Aircraft and Logistics Center (MRO) facility in 1997. However, never in the history of…