Standing the Test of Time

A message from
Aerostructures President Marc Duvall
The mark of a truly successful enterprise is to stand the test of time. As we
reach the 75th anniversary of this business’ incorporation, it’s abundantly clear
that this is one acid test Aerostructures has passed with flying colors.

We earned a reputation as a top notch aircraft subcontractor by supplying

38,000 power packages in three years for planes that helped win World War II,
like the Liberator B-24 bomber.

We built on this excellent reputation and industry position through the commer-
cial air travel boom of the 1950s, the jet age of the 1960s and the international
expansion of the aerospace industry in the 1970s.

We weathered the transitions and challenges of the 1980s and transformed

ourselves into one of aerospace’s leading Lean practitioners in the 1990s.
Since the mid-2000s, we’ve won positions on the majority of the significant
new platforms that have been launched.

Our ability to adapt to changing engineering and manufacturing technologies,

as well as shifting customer needs and expectations, has been a key to these
historic successes and remains critical to securing our future… as does our
focus on continuous improvement and eliminating waste from our processes.

This is a proud moment for every Aerostructures employee and a great oppor-
tunity to reflect on how far we’ve come since 1940.
 1940s: The War Years
Fred Rohr designed and built the fuel tanks for the famed “Spirit of St. Louis” – which made the first solo, non-stop
trans-Atlantic flight on May 20-21, 1927.

Frederick Hilmer Rohr, the son of a German metal

worker, saw a clear role for a subcontractor supplying
structural assemblies to the prime aircraft builders.

Fred Rohr (at far right) was a charter member of the “Night Hawk” team which built
Charles Lindbergh’s (third from left) “Spirit of St. Louis” in just 60 days.

Rohr Aircraft Corp.’s original employees spent two

and one-half weeks in Fred Rohr’s garage getting
the fledgling enterprise off the ground.

Commuting to work via mule versus automotive

horsepower wasn’t an uncommon sight in 1940 –
this taxi service transported early employees from
Tijuana to Chula Vista and back.

Rohr Aircraft Corp. quickly outgrew its first home – a three-story

building on Eighth and J Streets in San Diego once occupied
by a firm of cabinet makers. The “Eighth and J Gang” teamed
to draw up designs for Rohr’s first product lines.

Early employees inspect the new home of their industrial dream –

Rohr’s first 37,500-square-foot factory building, completed on Feb. 1,
Seeking more space for its manufacturing equipment, Rohr settled on 10 acres of land on the shore of the 1941. Accelerating production schedules soon led to the need for
lower San Diego Bay in Chula Vista. additional factory and office space.
1
1940s: The War Years

A shipset of power packages for the Consolidated Aircraft Corporation’s

PB2Y3 flying boat awaits delivery on Valentine’s Day, 1942 – 10
minutes before the contract deadline.

The contract to build structures for the B-24 Liberator bomber clinched the
company’s position as “the world’s largest producer of ready-to-install power
packages for airplanes.”

Between 1942 and 1945, Rohr manufactured 38,000 power packages

for the B-24 bomber and PBY flying boat series – reaching peak
production of 64 units a day.

A Rohr-built power package for a piston engine could be mounted on an

aircraft and flown away in a matter of minutes. The PBY-series flying boats
saved the lives of many aircrewmen shot down over the Pacific Ocean.
Employees gather around a PB2Y Coronado, which served both bombing and anti-submarine
warfare roles during combat in the Pacific.

Rohr’s B-24 production line operated 24 hours a

day, seven days a week – churning out 32,000
power packages during the war years.

The Pratt & Whitney R-1830 “Twin Wasp” engine

powered many of the warplanes of World War II –
including the PBY flying boat series and the B-24
Liberator bomber.

In June 1943, world heavyweight boxing champion Joe Louis toured Rohr’s Chula Vista facility
2 (including this machine shop area), calling the working conditions “the best I’ve ever seen.”
 1940s: The War Years
The diversity of the early Rohr workforce is evident in this image of the plaster
tooling area.

Impatient with the time-consuming practice of hammering

out sheet metal parts by hand, Fred Rohr designed the
first drop hammers used in aircraft production. The drop
hammer played a major role in the development of
the Rohr Aircraft Corp… and is still in use to this day.

Many “home-front heroines” pitched in to help Rohr meet its production

quotas during the critical war years. By 1943, 55 percent of Rohr’s
hourly payroll was female – including these drill press operators.

When the first Victory Bond Drive came along, Rohr signed up 100 percent
of its employees within 48 hours – the first U.S. corporation to do so.
Victory Bond Drives stirred employees’ strong sense of patriotism.
With the military draft taking more and more men out of the labor
pool, Rohr began hiring women like the other defense industries.

Rohr employees’ enthusiasm for the war effort extended beyond the production Round-the-clock assembly lines kept power packages for the B-24 bomber moving toward
line – including donating bundles of clothes to a Russian Clothing Relief Drive. completion.
3
1940s: The War Years

Mrs. Marion Walker was the company’s first woman

employee and served as Fred Rohr’s secretary for
more than 15 years.

B-24 Liberators awaiting power package installation were a common sight on the lower
San Diego Bay during the 1940s.

The Boeing B-50 Superfortress was one of the last piston-engined bombers built
– supplying cowlings for the plane was one of Rohr’s first Boeing contracts.

The piston-powered Douglas DC-6 was originally intended as a military

transport, but was reworked after the war to compete with the Lockheed
Constellation in the long-range transport market.

The Consolidated Vultee Convair 240 began life as a pressurized airliner

designed to replace American Airlines’ Douglas DC-3s.

Affectionately known as the “Connie,” the Lockheed Constellation was used as The PBY flying boat was one of the most widely used multi-role aircraft
both a civilian airliner and a U.S. military air transport plane. of World War II, serving with every branch of the U.S. military.

4 Payday was always a popular event at the Chula Vista facility. Rohr’s strong and growing profile on the San Diego Bay was captured in this 1949 photo.
 1950s: Beyond California’s Borders
From 1,200 to 3,400 separate Rohr-made parts went into one post-war
power package.

The DC-7 was the last major piston-engine powered transport made by Douglas before
the jet age… and the beginning of Rohr’s long-standing relationship with Douglas.

Rohr patented a unique Tilting Arc handling fixture in Rohr foundry employees poured lead to form Kirksite dies
the 1950s. used in drop hammer operations.

Fred Rohr pioneered ways of making

honeycomb core for use in brazed stainless
steel honeycomb panels.

Employees performed gas analysis and quality assurance inspections in

a fully equipped test lab.

Rohr’s many metal-forming assets included a

350-ton stretch wrap forming machine.

Rohr engineers review stainless steel ducting prototypes to arrive at the optimum design. Fatigue testing of Rohr products was an important activity.
5
1950s: Beyond California’s Borders

Rohr purchased a parcel of land

from a dairy farmer in 1956 to
establish an assembly plant in
Auburn, Washington devoted to
Boeing work – including the B-52
strategic bomber program.

By October 1951, the Chula Vista facility had

reached its capacity – prompting the company to
purchase 80 acres of land in Anza Village near
Riverside, CA. Before long, Rohr was shipping
Riverside-made power packages for the B-50
Superfortress to Boeing in Seattle.

Triggered by a contract to build power packages for

the Lockheed C-130 military transport, Rohr
expanded outside of California in 1954 to Winder,
Georgia – a convenient trucking distance from
Lockheed’s Marietta plant.

Rohr officials frequently met with members of the

International Association of Machinists to discuss labor matters
and solve minor problems before they became major issues.

By the mid-1950s, half of Rohr’s deliveries were to

Boeing – including engine pods for the Boeing 707,
the first commercially successful jetliner.

Awarding employees gift certificates for Thanksgiving

turkeys was a popular Rohr tradition in the 1950s.
Rohr adopted a variety of methods to round up new employees,
including this 1956 “Employee Recruitment Car” driven by Personnel
6 Manager Jim Hobel.
 1950s: Beyond California’s Borders
To demonstrate Rohr’s economic impact on the
Chula Vista community, the company elected to pay
each employee’s wages in silver dollars for one week
in 1954. Delighted with their bags of hard cash,
employees unleashed a “silver avalanche” on Chula
Vista merchants.

Rohr built the jet engine pods – the jet equivalent of the power package
– for the Boeing B-52 long-range strategic bomber, some of which
would achieve 50 years of continuous service.

Rohr content was part of the U.S. Air Force’s KC-135 aerial refueling
tanker, 732 of which entered the fleet between 1957 and the early
1980s – when Boeing launched a re-engining program.

7
1950s: Beyond California’s Borders

The Convair B-58 Hustler – the first American

high-speed jet bomber capable of Mach 2
supersonic flight – was one of the many military
planes Rohr supplied hardware for in the 1950s.
Another, the KC-135, was equipped with a flying
boom for mid-air fuel transfers to B-52s and other
military aircraft. A scale model of the B-52 – which was
similar in size and appearance to the
commercial Boeing 707 – occupied a
prominent place in Fred Rohr’s office.

Rohr designed a distinctive-

looking exhaust nozzle for the
Boeing 707.

The Convair 880 – a jet airliner designed to compete with the Boeing
707 and Douglas DC-8 by being smaller, faster and safer – never found
its niche.

The Lockheed Jetstar – the first dedicated business jet to

enter service – featured wing-mounted “slipper tanks.”

Among the Lockheed programs Rohr participated on during the 1950s were: the
C-130 Hercules tactical airlifter; the L-188 Electra – the first turboprop airliner
built in the U.S.; and the P2V naval patrol bomber/anti-submarine aircraft.

8
 1960s: Decade of Diversification
Rohr furnished engine inlets and bay enclosures, elevons, and
rudder sections for the British-French Concorde – the most
successful of only two supersonic passenger airliners ever
commercially operated.

The arrival of the space age brought a need for large

antenna structures to help explore the universe and
aid in worldwide communications, prompting launch
of the Rohr Antenna Division.

Rohr was convinced that the application of modern factory methods and new materials would
revolutionize the housing industry, which gave birth to the Modular Components Corp. in 1960.
Production of “unitized” bathrooms – floor, walls, ceiling, bath tub and shower unit all integrated in
one seamless fiberglass structure – was undertaken at the Chula Vista plant.

A lull in commercial aircraft orders led Rohr to introduce a number of

new product lines, including boats and submersible buoys to meet the
requirements for a stable oceanographic instrument base.

9
1960s: Decade of Diversification
10
The North American XB-70 “Valkyrie” – conceived as a
high-altitude nuclear bomber that could fly at three times the
speed of sound – never reached active production, but two
prototype XB-70s flew test flights in the 1960s. While it didn’t fly commercially until 1970, Rohr
began work on the Boeing 747 jumbo jet contract in
the late 1960s. Boeing 747 engine build up was a
long-running activity at the Auburn, Washington
assembly facility.
Rohr manufactured engine pods, auxiliary power unit shrouding, and cargo door straps for
the Boeing 727.
The DC-8 “Super 63” made its maiden flight in April 1967
with Rohr nacelles and thrust reversers.
The cabin of the Grumman Gulfstream II business jet – for
which Rohr supplied jet engine pods, pylons, thrust reversers,
escape hatches and nose wheel doors – was roomy enough to
seat 19.
The DC-9 was designed for short-to-medium range routes and was offered in several
versions.
The Lockheed P-3 Orion – the Navy’s most effective anti-submarine
patrol craft – featured Rohr-built power packages, aft nacelles, landing
gear doors, tailpipes, tailpipe covers, and shrouds.
The Boeing 737 – the most ordered and produced commercial passenger jet of The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter – a military strategic airlifter introduced to replace
all time – has been continuously manufactured by Boeing since 1967. slower piston-engined cargo planes – remained in service for almost 40 years.
 1960s: Decade of Diversification
Manufactured between 1959 and 1972 with Rohr nacelles and thrust reversers,
the DC-8 became the first civilian jet to make a supersonic flight – breaking the
sound barrier during a 1961 flight designed to collect data on a new
leading-edge design for the wing.

Employees at Rohr’s Auburn, Wash. facility performed engine build up

for Boeing Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) surveillance
aircraft.

The thrust reversers for the Lockheed JetStar business jet featured a
Rohr proprietary design.

Located at the Riverside plant, Rohr’s Space Products Division was formed in
1963 to manufacture hardware such as the motor cases, motor case insulation
and ablative nozzles for the giant Titan III launch vehicle.

11
1960s: Decade of Diversification

Rohr’s Brown Field engine test facility – situated about 10 miles from the Chula Vista plant and ideally suited for
acquiring engine noise data – was established in 1968 to support the development testing of thrust reversers.

The death of company founder Fred Rohr at age 69 on Nov. 8, 1965

shocked employees, the local community and the aircraft industry.

Rohr developed adhesive bonded structures during

the 1960s that featured fewer seams and fasteners
for greater aerodynamic smoothness.

Rohr’s acquisition of a Remington Rand Solid State

80 Univac computer stemmed from the need for a
more versatile and sophisticated computer to serve
the company’s growing numerical control machining
and programming efforts.

Follow-on work for Boeing and Lockheed signaled

that the aircraft order slump of the early 1960s was
a thing of the past.

The company delivered its last hardware for the Boeing B-52
Stratofortress strategic bomber program in the 1960s… but some
models of the plane may fly until 2040.

12 Rohr supplied everything from ailerons and fuselage sections to nose wheel doors and thrust reversers for the Boeing 707.
 1970s: Building an International Presence
Rohr President Burt Raynes called the June 1971
demonstration of its “ROMAG” technology – a vehicle that
levitated off a guideway and was propelled forward in a
controlled fashion by electromagnetic force – the company’s
greatest single achievement in its first 50 years.

Rohr built Turboliner trains – which were powered by diesel gas-electric

turbines and equipped with third rail shoes to enable entry into the
underground tunnels approaching Grand Central Terminal and New
York Penn Station in New York City – for Amtrak in 1976.

Rohr established a 137,000-square-foot rail transit assembly Rohr was the first company to adapt low emission liquefied natural gas
building in Chula Vista and a 52,000-square-foot fiberglass (LNG) technology to volume bus production.
fabrication plant in Los Angeles as it expanded into the ground
transportation business.

Rohr broadened its dimensions as a major transportation company by

winning a $66.7 million contract to manufacture 250 rapid transit cars
for the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART).

Rohr’s Rail Transit Division was awarded a contract to build 300

aluminum rapid transit cars for Washington D.C.’s Metro system.
13
1970s: Building an International Presence

Rohr Marine Systems was devoted to the research, design, development and production of
marine vessels – including an ocean-going surface effect combatant vessel for the U.S. Navy.

The “common nacelle system” concept – which was initially

applied to the Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7 engine for the Airbus
A300 and Boeing 747 – was based on the premise that it’s
more cost effective to design and develop a single nacelle
configuration for various aircraft models powered by the same
engine.

Via its Automove Systems Division, Rohr designed To strengthen its position as a designer and manufacturer of ground
advanced computer-controlled material handling transportation products and systems, Rohr acquired San Diego Prestressed
systems. Concrete Products Company – which specialized in precast concrete panels,
slabs, beams and columns.

14
 1970s: Building an International Presence
Rohr manufactured hardware for the strap-on booster rockets
for the Titan III launch vehicle – the largest unmanned space
booster used by the Air Force until the Titan IV was developed
in 1988.

By 1968, the Space Products Division in Riverside had expanded to

150,600-square-feet of manufacturing space and had an order
backlog of more than $30 million.

The Winder, Georgia plant was converted from nacelle assembly to transit
vehicle assembly by the mid-1970s.

Rohr received its first Airbus contract in 1972, leading to construction of an assembly
plant across the airfield from the main Airbus assembly plant in Toulouse, France.
15
1970s: Building an International Presence

Rohr fabricated the nose cowl, forward fan wrap cowl, fan nozzle and core
engine cowl for the McDonnell Douglas DC-10 transcontinental trijet.

The Riverside facility expanded its operations into nearby Moreno Valley
to accommodate a growing work load.

The Boeing 737 – for which Rohr supplied thrust reversers and other
content – helped accelerate overall air traffic growth in the 1970s by
flying passengers shorter distances comfortably and economically.

In 1972, Boeing received an order from the U.S. Air Force for Airborne
Warning and Command System (AWACS) aircraft based on the 707
airframe… and Rohr was awarded the contract for the large aft
fuselage section, nacelles, pylons and other components.

During the 1970s, Rohr supplied Both Boeing and Airbus were quick to recognize the
content for the North American economic advantages of Rohr’s “Common Nacelle
F-100D Super Sabre – the first of System” concept.
a series of US fighters capable of
supersonic speed in level flight.

Assembly of hardware for the Grumman F-14 Tomcat fighter – the United States
Autoclaves helped the Riverside facility handle a growing volume of Navy’s primary maritime air superiority fighter, fleet defense interceptor and
16 adhesive bonded structures. tactical reconnaissance platform at the time – was also accomplished at Riverside.
 1980s: Adding 6 Facilities and 2 Million Sq. Ft.
In 1986, Rohr received a contract to build acoustically treated nacelles
and struts for a program to re-engine Boeing 727-200 jetliners for
quieter, more efficient operation.
Several key programs were added to Rohr’s business base during the early 1980s – including the
Boeing 737-300.

Before the curtain closed on the 1970s, Boeing awarded Rohr a

contract to manufacture pylons and trailing edge fairings for the 757…
not long after, Rohr received authorization from Rolls-Royce – one of
the two 757 engine suppliers – to design, develop, and produce
RB211-535C nacelle and thrust reverser components.

Derived from the DC-9, the MD-80 – or “Super 80” – entered service
in 1980 with launch customers Alitalia and American Airlines.

The first Boeing 747-400 was delivered to Northwest Airlines Boeing launched a KC-135 Stratotanker re-engining program in the
on January 26, 1989… and entered service on Feb. 9. early 1980s to help the 400 military tankers comply with modern
standards for fuel efficiency, emissions, and noise levels… and Rohr
supplied the inlets and fan cowls for all of them.

Rohr manufactured the nacelle and inlet/glove

for the F-14 fighter throughout the 1980s.

Rohr signed a contract to design and manufacture nacelles for

the CFM56-powered Airbus A320 in October 1984… four
months later, the company was selected to produce the nacelle
system for the V2500 engine for the short- to medium-range jet.

The McDonnell Douglas MD-90 mid-size, medium-range airliner program was

launched in 1989, but the jet didn’t fly until 1993.

Rohr signed an agreement with CFM International in May 1989 to

Rohr’s 44-year association with McDonnell Douglas continued with a 1987 contract provide nacelles for the CFM56-5C engines featured on the Airbus A340
four-engine, long-range jetliner.
award to provide pylons for the MD-11 widebody.
17
1980s: Adding 6 Facilities and 2 Million Sq. Ft.

The Alabama Service Center – an

FAA-certified repair and overhaul station
established in 1984 – performs MRO
services on nacelles, doors, fairings, flight
controls, pneumatic ducting and wire
harnesses for airline operators throughout
the Americas.

Winning a subcontract award from Lockheed to build pylons and nacelles for the
C-5B heavy airlifter prompted the need to establish a satellite assembly plant in
Foley, Alabama in August 1983.

The Foley facility delivered its first C-5B pylons to

Lockheed in May 1985.

By June 1988, Rohr’s French subsidiary had delivered its 1,000th nacelle to Airbus. The successful
first flight of a V2500-engine powered Airbus A320 featuring a Rohr nacelle took place in July 1988.

Rohr France was able to deliver 230 nacelles during its 1989 fiscal
year. Production rates for Rohr France’s V2500 and CFM56-5 nacelle
Growth in nacelle operations for Airbus led Rohr France to establish a second programs accelerated as the Airbus A320 entered active service.
facility – the Gramont location – a mile away from the original St. Martin site and
also change its name to Rohr Europe.
18
 1980s: Adding 6 Facilities and 2 Million Sq. Ft.
Rohr delivered its first shipsets of CF6-80C2 nacelles for the MD-11
aircraft to General Electric in April 1989.

Rohr made a move to increase its composite bonding

capacities by purchasing the Fairchild Composite/Bonding
Center in Hagerstown, Maryland in October 1987.

In December 1982, Rohr received an order valued at $51 million for

additional solid rocket motor segments for NASA’s space shuttle
program. Engineering changes made to the space shuttle’s design after
the Challenger accident in 1986 added complexity to the manufacture
of shuttle components… but Rohr still achieved defect-free quality in
building shuttle solid rocket motor cylinders.

Rohr erected a final assembly facility in Sheridan,

Arkansas on 80 acres of land located 30 miles north
of Little Rock to expand its manufacturing operations.

Heber Springs, Arkansas was selected as the site for a Rohr

assembly operation after an exhaustive investigation of 76
various locations across the country.

Rohr designed and manufactured the first nacelle for the Propfan Test Assessment program funded by
the NASA-Lewis Research Center. Static ground tests for the propfan test assessment propulsion
system – as well as other advanced nacelle projects – were conducted at the Brown Field test facility.
19
1980s: Adding 6 Facilities and 2 Million Sq. Ft.

Rohr manufactured approximately 25 percent of the F-14 Tomcat fighter’s

airframe.

In the 1980s, Rohr won contracts to supply nacelle systems for the GE
CF6-80C2 engine powering the Airbus A300-600 and Boeing 747 and 767.

Riverside’s Filament Winding Machine was used to systematically

wind composite material yarn into nacelle fan cowls.

In the superplastic forming process, sheets of titanium alloy

are heated until they reach a plastic state and formed into
various shapes.

Recognizing carbon’s potential as a heat-resistant

material, Rohr officially dedicated a laboratory devoted
exclusively to the development of carbon-carbon
composites in Chula Vista in January 1986. Rohr embarked on an R&D program to
strengthen ducts for the F100 engine that
powered many military fighter aircraft of
the 1980s.

Rohr thrust reverser cascades are basically a series of vanes

that redirect air flowing through a jet engine’s bypass fan to
create reverse thrust.

Among its military program activities, the Riverside operation assembled stabilizers
for AWACS aircraft – the world’s standard for airborne early warning and control
systems.
The Riverside facility was responsible for bonding, mechanical assembly,
20 and final processing of inlets and fan cowls for the KC-135R tanker.
 1990s: Joining the Goodrich Family
Boeing delivered almost 650 Boeing 757s between January 1990 and
December 1999.

As a member of a Lockheed Martin industry team, Rohr was responsible

for design and fabrication of the X-33 Single-Stage-To-Orbit Reusable
Launch Vehicle’s thermal protection system. A technology demonstrator
was nearly completed, but the program was eventually cancelled.

Rohr was selected to supply nacelles and thrust reversers for the
Boeing 717 – which was launched as the McDonnell Douglas MD-95
– in January 1996.

The McDonnell Douglas MD-90 first flew in 1993 and entered service in 1995.

Lockheed Martin selected the company to supply pylons for its program
to retrofit the U.S. Air Force’s C-5 military transport fleet.

Although used primarily to re-fuel aircraft during flight, the KC-135R also served
as a flying command post, pure transport, electronic reconnaissance, and photo
mapping craft.

The company used its patented GRID-LOCK®

structural technology to build high-strength,
lightweight control surfaces and similar
spares for high volume aircraft in the U.S.
Air Force and Navy inventories… including
Based on its extensive experience in developing customized structures the F-15 Eagle.
for high temperature environments, Rohr was chosen to bond and build
the titanium engine bay doors for the F-22 Raptor fighter. 21
1990s: Joining the Goodrich Family

The giant vacuum furnace at San Marcos

accommodates parts up to 10 feet in diameter and
eight feet tall.
Rohr established itself as a world leader in the
production of honeycomb sandwich structures.

In Feb. 1990, Rohr announced plans to build a facility dedicated to manufacture

of high-temperature aerospace structures in San Marcos, Texas.

The San Marcos operation was facilitized with One of the San Marcos facility’s initial activities
state-of-the-art equipment for the fabrication, testing, entailed assembly and bonding of the titanium
and assembly of metallic components capable of engine bay doors for the F-22 tactical fighter.
withstanding extreme heat and stress – such as this
exhaust nozzle for the V2500 nacelle system.

A final assembly/engine buildup facility in Hamburg, Germany was

inaugurated in 1983 as part of Rohr’s European operations.

Rohr opened an overhaul and repair facility in

Prestwick, Scotland in 1996 to provide improved
customer service to airlines in Europe, the Middle
East and Africa.

Building 107 – a three-story structure on the Chula Vista campus designed to Rohr Aero Services-Asia was launched in Singapore in 1995
accommodate enhanced communication and integrated, concurrent product design – was to provide maintenance, repair and overhaul services to
22 ready for occupancy in September 1992. airlines in the Asia-Pacific region.
 1990s: Joining the Goodrich Family
Rohr’s thermal protection system – a
marriage between aircraft and space design
– was considered one of three technologies
essential to the success of the X-33 space
vehicle program, which was cancelled after
five years of development due to NASA
Riverside facility technicians load composite panels on the final assembly and trim jig funding shortfalls.
for the X-33 Advanced Technology Demonstrator. The vehicle’s entire upper leeward
aeroshell was built in Riverside using the facility’s 20-foot diameter autoclave.

The nacelle system for the latest addition to the best-selling An incredible effort was required to overcome technical issues
airliner family of all time – the Boeing Next-Generation 737-700 associated with Rohr’s MD-95 development hardware thrust reverser
– featured Rohr-designed and manufactured inlets and fan cowls. unit – the first time the company ever developed a pre-exit thrust
reverser for an engine the size of the BMW Rolls-Royce BR715 that
powered the McDonnell Douglas jet.

Flight tests to meet certification requirements for the Boeing 717 (formerly the MD-95) began in
1998, followed by the first aircraft deliveries to launch customer AirTran Airlines the next year.
23
1990s: Joining the Goodrich Family

The end of the 1990s also marked the conclusion of Rohr’s 20+ years
of making rocket motor cases for NASA’s space shuttle program.

Rohr’s tail pylon program for the MD-11 was transferred from the Foley facility to the
Hagerstown, Maryland facility in May 1990.

Rohr purchased aerospace engineering and

manufacturing firm Tolo Incorporated in
late 1997, adding products like rigid cargo
barriers to its portfolio.

Rohr delivered its last nacelle for the MD-90 jetliner – aircraft
number 117 – in February 1999.

The first McDonnell Douglas MD-11 tri-jet – featuring Rohr nacelles and
pylons – was delivered to Finnair in November 1990.

Bob Rau was named president

and chief executive officer of Rohr
in early 1993.

After BFGoodrich announced its

intention to merge with Rohr in
September 1997, Chairman and
CEO Dave Burner said:
About 20,000 employees, retirees and family members attended an “BFGoodrich has been interested
Open House in Chula Vista in October 1990 commemorating Rohr’s in Rohr since 1985… This is an
24 50th anniversary… and many stopped to see this drop hammer display. exciting transaction for us.”
 2000s: Lean Transformation Takes Hold
Aerostructures was also awarded
contracts to manufacture APU
tailcones for both the Embraer
190 and the smaller 170 model.

Goodrich Aerostructures ushered in the new century

with contracts to supply content for Brazilian regional
jet maker Embraer’s 170/190 aircraft family. In
2000, General Electric selected the company to
provide nacelle systems for the CF34-10-powered
Embraer 190.

The one-piece acoustic liner Aerostructures

developed for the program will be used on the 787
Dreamliner and potentially other aircraft as well.
A six-year design, development and demonstration effort by
Aerostructures culminated in the June 2006 first flight of the
C-5M “Super Galaxy” – the result of a modernization program
intended to extend the life of the strategic airlifter fleet.

Aerostructures supplied nacelle components in

support of the U.S. Air Force’s Joint Surveillance
Target Attack Radar System (JSTARS) aircraft fleet
re-engining program.

The two-and-one-half-year Quiet Technology Demonstrator Program culminated

in a joint Goodrich/Boeing/General Electric/All Nippon Airways/NASA effort to
outfit a 777 with various noise reduction technologies and run it through an
exacting series of tests to determine the sound-dampening effectiveness of the
new technologies.

25
2000s: Lean Transformation Takes Hold

In a typical year, Chula Vista’s Customer Support Warehouse ships about 10

percent more spare parts than the year before.

Goodrich Aerostructures Integration Services in Everett, Washington – which was

established to assemble inlet cowls and install the cowl and exhaust nozzle on the
GE and Rolls-Royce engines for the Boeing – celebrated its official grand opening
Rohr, Inc. became Goodrich in September 2006.
Aerostructures after the company
became part of the Goodrich
family of market-leading
aerospace companies.

Deregulation of the energy industry, coupled with market

manipulation, led to the energy crisis in California in 2001 and
rolling blackouts… prompting Aerostructures to invest in
self-generation of electricity.

Scotland First Minister Jack McConnell visited the

Chula Vista facility in October 2006 to demonstrate
his country’s appreciation for Goodrich’s continued
investment in its Prestwick, Scotland repair and
overhaul operation and the high tech, high profile
jobs it provides the local community.

The Goodrich Aerostructures Service Center-Asia experienced

such robust growth that numerous facility expansions occurred
in the 1990s and 2000s.

26
 2000s: Lean Transformation Takes Hold
Aerostructures employees at several locations celebrate
shipment of the company’s milestone 2,000th inlet for the
Boeing Next-Generation 737 program.

As part of a bayfront land transfer agreement, the San Diego Unified

Port District transferred 26 acres of waterfront property to
Aerostructures in return for 38 acres of the company’s inland
property… enabling Aerostructures to consolidate its operations north
of H Street in a Lean configuration.

Moving Chula Vista’s chemical processing lines – including a waste

water treatment facility – north of H Street was one of the largest
renovation and relocation projects in the facility’s history.

The successful relocation of Chula Vista’s chemical

processing lines in 2001 had a huge impact on
manufacturing efficiency, reducing part travel by half
a mile.

The Boeing 717 program – which ended production in 2006 – proved pivotal in displaying James P. Womack – president of the Lean
Aerostructures’ capability to design and manufacture a complex nacelle system… Enterprise Institute, an organization
including the first pre-exit thrust reverser to be designed for a high bypass engine. dedicated to the spread of Lean thinking
– has singled out Aerostructures as one of
several U.S.-based companies which “best
demonstrates a Lean mentality.”

Boeing, Goodrich and the engine manufacturers

worked together with Lean Product Development tools
to define the best value 787 propulsion system model
for each of the plane’s three candidate engines.

Chula Vista’s Building 29 features a self-contained

FAA-certificated repair station.

27
2000s: Lean Transformation Takes Hold

Boeing selected Aerostructures to supply The company served a barbecue lunch and arranged a special “fly-by” as a way
the nacelle and thrust reverser for both the of saying “thank you” to Aerostructures employees for their contributions to the
GE and Rolls-Royce engine options for the Lean transformation that led to the 787 contract award.
787 Dreamliner in April 2004 with a
contract valued at up to $4 billion.

The San Marcos facility supplies the exhaust nozzle for the
787 nacelle system.
Aerostructures leaders gathered with
Boeing 787 Propulsion Team Leader Ron
Hinderberger during a May 2007 ceremony
celebrating shipment of the Dreamliner’s
first flight test thrust reversers.

Aerostructures’ support of its 787 program

hardware continued through the Dreamliner’s
ground and flight test programs.

Aerostructures is the major donor to the City of Chula Vista’s annual

holiday Toy Drive.

Aerostructures is leveraging
robotics lessons learned from
auto makers to achieve higher
repeatability and ergonomic gains A number of employees
in aerospace manufacturing. have achieved the
extraordinary career
milestone of 50 years of
company service.

Aerostructures’ 787 program leadership

said of the employees that have contributed
to the development of the Dreamliner’s
nacelle system: “If you go forward five or
ten years, people are going to look back on
this program and marvel at the courage,
guts and fortitude that this team had in
meeting the challenges of this program.”
Company leadership praised a “spectacular team” for delivering the first
inlet for a “spectacular aircraft” in record time at a March 28, 2006
28 celebration of the Trent 1000/Boeing 787 milestone inlet shipment.
 2010s: Launching UTC Aerospace Systems
Aerostructures’ first Airbus A350 XWB thrust reverser for Trent XWB Aerostructures’ ninth maintenance, repair and
engine ground testing was shipped to Rolls-Royce in November 2010. The overhaul facility opened in October 2011 in Istanbul,
A350 XWB thrust reversers are the largest ever built by Aerostructures. Turkey, a joint venture with Turkish Technic.
Goodrich Aerospace Europe employees are
all smiles in front of the shiny new podded
nacelle that was later used to flight test the
Trent XWB engine for the Airbus A350
XWB aboard an A380 flying test bed.

The Chula Vista facility contributed both

175,000 pounds of lead (from punches no
longer needed to form parts on drop
hammers) and casting expertise to supply
keel weights and ballast plates for the San
Diego Maritime Museum’s recreation of the
San Salvador… a full sized, fully functional
and historically accurate replica of the
iconic vessel whose voyage of discovery in
1542 put California on the map. The Chula Vista facility shipped its first hardware contribution to the Pratt &
Whitney PW1000G geared turbofan engine’s certification program on March 31,
2010 – a “cobra duct.” The duct is part of the engine’s anti-icing system.

Chula Vista employee volunteers pitched in

to make direly needed repairs to the home
of resident Marian Pelc (pictured at left) as
part of the 2010 “Christmas in October” Aerostructures completed what was considered the
project. starting point in the Airbus A350 XWB nacelle’s
build process in July 2010, its torque box. It was one
of the business unit’s first pieces of finished nacelle
system hardware for the A350 XWB engine’s ground
testing program.
Aerostructures’ CSeries nacelle team
successfully delivered this PW1524G thrust
reverser to Pratt & Whitney for the engine’s
flying test bed program in May 2012.

This “Day 1” celebration in Chula Vista in July 2012

was one of many that took place at Aerostructures
On March 12, 2012, several hundred Chula Vista employees had the opportunity facilities to commemorate the launch of UTC
to take an up-close look at the Boeing 787 Dreamliner as it stopped in San Diego Aerospace Systems, the new business combining
during the fourth leg of its “Dream Tour.” Goodrich and Hamilton Sundstrand. 29
2010s: Launching UTC Aerospace Systems
The V2500 team in San Marcos
(at left) was one of many across
Aerostructures marking the
milestone 5,000th V2500 nacelle
delivery in October 2013. The
Texas site manufactures exhaust
Employees at Aerostructures’ original equipment facility in Tianjin, China shipped nozzle systems for the V2500/A320
their first products in the summer of 2013 – fan cowl bond panels for the nacelle. In the top photo, Hamburg,
CF34-10 engines that power the Embraer 190/195 regional jets. Germany employees gather
around the engine and nacelle
system prior to delivery to Airbus.

To commemorate the challenges and successes of the first 12 months of the

Goodrich-Hamilton Sundstrand integration into UTC Aerospace Systems, Mexicali
employees formed the letters “UTC” on July 26, 2013 and captured the moment
in a photo.

In October 2013, the Engineered Polymer Products (EPP)

facility in Jacksonville, Florida was recognized as a
“Manufacturer of the Year” among mid-size firms in the
Jacksonville area by the First Coast Manufacturers
Association. EPP’s product portfolio includes this 25-ton
sonar bow dome – which houses a U.S. Navy Virginia-class
submarine’s sonar system or “eyes and ears.”

From Everett, Washington to Jacksonville, Florida,

employees took time on Nov. 11, 2014 to mark
Veteran’s Day. In Chula Vista, Aerostructures
President Marc Duvall made remarks highlighting
the contributions and sacrifices of our business
unit’s veteran employees and their families.
Helping students plant several varieties of
vegetables in the raised garden beds that
Aerostructures donated and built at Chula
Vista’s Rohr Elementary School was a
popular activity at 2014’s “Green Apple Day
of Service” – which encourages people and
companies to help create healthier, safer
and more productive learning environments
by working with local schools.

In June 2014, Mitsubishi employees mounted the Pratt & Whitney

PW1200G engines – complete with nacelle systems designed and
built by Aerostructures – onto the first flight test aircraft.

The Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Nagoya, Japan

organized this March 2014 visit to the Chula Vista facility by
executives from All Nippon Airways, Mitsubishi Aircraft
Corporation and other Japanese firms to tour Building 61 to
get a closer look at Aerostructures’ nacelle hardware for the This “last bolt” ceremony in Nagoya, Japan marked the attachment of the
30 Mitsubishi Regional Jet. engine, nacelle and pylon to the first Mitsubishi Regional Jet flight test aircraft.
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