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Advanced composites manufacturer Quickstep Holdings has celebrated the manufacture and delivery of the 100th shipset of wing flaps for the C130J Super Hercules transport aircraft.
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The delivery signifies a milestone for Australia's defence industry and provides a platform for future growth, according to chief executive and managing director Mark Burgess.
"We are a proud supplier to Lockheed Martin on this critical global program and delighted to have delivered our 100th shipset of C-130J wing flaps," said Burgess.
"Lockheed Martin, through its support of sustainable industry development in Australia, allows us to continue to develop world-class competencies necessary to be both globally competitive and export ready, and in the future this may include extending our scope of supply on the C-130J/LM-100J platforms.
"The outlook for Quickstep is strong, and we anticipate improved efficiency from our C-130J and growing JSF production programs. In addition, we have opportunities to deliver incremental growth across our complete product portfolio."
Minister for Defence Industry Christopher Pyne congratulated the company for its success and its support of Australian jobs.
"The C-130J contract already supports 50 Australian jobs and Quickstep’s performance puts them in good stead to secure additional export work, creating the potential for an expansion in its workforce," said Minister Pyne.
"Quickstep is truly an Australian manufacturing success story. In six years they have gone from a small start-up to beating international competitors to supply parts to both the C-27J and the Joint Strike Fighter programs and employing more than 200 people."
The manufacturing company, which recently completed a $10 million capital expansion of its aerospace manufacturing facilities in Bankstown, will provide wing flaps for the C-130J project up until 2019.
Quickstep is one of Australia's strongest contributing F-35 companies, providing a number of composite parts for the global project.
