cens logo

Taiwan's AIDC to Invest NT$2 Bn. to Set Up Carbon Fiber Plant

2014/05/06 | By Steve Chuang

With Boeing and Airbus increasingly applying composites, particularly carbon fiber, in airplanes to reduce weight and fuel consumption, the Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC), an established Taiwanese company of military and commercial aircrafts, engines and related maintenance and engineering services, plans to invest NT$2 billion (US$66.67 million) in setting up the second plant for composites.

AIDC's president, Butch Hsu, confirmed earlier the said plan, and expects the  environmental impact assessment for the project to be completed by the end of this year.

Market observers say that the investment makes sense, as Boeing and Airbus both have built their newest aircrafts, B787 and A380,  mostly with composites, with the most important material being carbon fiber that makes up 52-57% of the total in the new airplanes. So this market trend will fuel global demand for composites in the short term and benefit AIDC.

Mainly driven by the booming aerospace industry, Hsu said that AIDC presently has over NT$30 billion (US$1 billion) in orders, mostly for aircraft engines and composites. The president says the company is likely to see  annual revenue hit a new high of NT$24-25 billion (around US$800 million) this year, and surge to NT$30 billion by 2017.

Last year, AIDC scored annual revenue of NT$23.086 billion (US$769.533 million), the second-highest on record and pretax profits of NT$1.389 billion (US$46.3 million), with EPS (earnings per share) of NT$1.42, better than NT$1.37 earned in 2012.

Aside from the investment mentioned above, Hsu says AIDC will pour NT$1.2 billion (US$40 million) into establishing its third plant of engine housing in Kaohsiung City, southern Taiwan, to get under way in the first quarter of 2015 and scheduled to become operational in mid-2016 to boost AIDC's current output of some 6,000 units to 10,000 units a year. Presently, AIDC is the largest non-American supplier of engine housing by output in the world.

Also notable is that the company has mapped out a five-year development plan for 2014-2018, including spending NT$400-600 million (US$10-20 million) each year developing military aircrafts, composites for aircraft structures, parts and components of non-composites and engine parts; upgrading production and assembly technologies; enhancing R&D momentum; and improving production processes and management.

Originally a fully state-owned company dedicated to military aircrafts, AIDC has penetrated the civil aviation sector over the past years, to secure sustainable development for the future. (SC)