Albany International Is Excited to Deliver Its Advanced 3D Woven Rib to the Airbus Wing of Tomorrow Program

LE BOURGET, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Albany International Corp. (NYSE: AIN) announced today that its subsidiary Albany Engineered Composites (AEC) recently delivered the first components it is producing for the Airbus Wing of Tomorrow Wing Box Assembly demonstrator program. AEC’s collaboration with Airbus represents an important part of its strategic efforts aimed at developing high volume industrialized and sustainable manufacturing technologies for next generation Airbus aircraft.

During the last 3 years, AEC has been collaborating with Airbus on a number of government supported R&D programmes such as the Wing of Tomorrow and Clean Aviation. AEC applied its innovative 3D woven technology to this important wing application, which along with its proven industrialized capabilities in high-rate RTM processing, will produce high tolerance integrated parts such as wing ribs targeting cost / weight / performance benefit in next generation aircraft.

Brent Stevenson, AEC’s SVP of Research and Technology commented: "Advances in digitalization together with composite manufacturing innovations are demonstrating cost effective and higher-rate with reduced waste and energy consumption to produce next generation sustainable and lightweight composites products."

Greg Harwell, AEC President added: “We are proud and excited to be working with Airbus to deliver lightweight and high-performing composite wing components that contribute to the extremely important sustainability goals of the aerospace industry. By developing composite manufacturing technologies capable of reducing factory footprint, capital equipment and production costs while supporting future rate, weight, and performance goals provides an excellent platform to execute our mission to be a partner of choice to the aerospace OEMs and Tier 1s.”

About Albany Engineered Composites

Albany Engineered Composites (AEC) designs and manufactures advanced engineered composite components for engine and airframe applications for commercial and military aircraft, missiles and unmanned vehicles, and for renewable energy creation and distribution. AEC’s specialty composite solutions enable current and next-generation aircraft to perform better while being more fuel-efficient, cost-effective, and environmentally-friendly.

About Albany International Corp.

Albany International is a leading developer and manufacturer of engineered components, using advanced materials processing and automation capabilities, with two core businesses. Machine Clothing is the world’s leading producer of custom-designed, consumable belts essential for the manufacture of all grades of paper products. Albany Engineered Composites is a growing designer and manufacturer of advanced materials-based engineered components for demanding aerospace applications, supporting both commercial and military platforms. Albany International is headquartered in Rochester, New Hampshire, operates 23 facilities in 11 countries, employs more than 4,200 people worldwide, and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (Symbol AIN). Additional information about the Company and its products and services can be found at www.albint.com.