________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
production engine in the world, and we produce around 80,000 parts a year using our proprietary 3D-woven and out-of-autoclave technologies. That experience gives us a strong foundation for helping other customers develop innovative solutions.
“ We are also a very values-driven company, and those values shape how we work with our customers and with one another. We focus on building long-term partnerships rather than simply supplying components. We may not have hundreds of customers, but we have a relatively small number of strategic customers with significant books of business, and those relationships continue to grow because of the strength of the partnerships we have built.”
Indeed, Albany invests heavily in research and development, which is a key pillar of the organization. R & D activity is centered across three locations: Rochester, New Hampshire; Kaiserslautern, Germany; and the facility in Salt Lake City, forming part of its Emerging Markets and Technology segment.
“ That segment has a specific role within Albany,” Jared explains.“ Alongside our commercial aerospace and US defense businesses, it focuses on developing and advancing technologies to Technology Readiness Level 7 and beyond.
“ Importantly, our approach goes beyond simply developing new technologies. We also help carry them through the challenging transition from research and development into sustainable production; what our industry often calls the‘ valley of death’. Rather than introducing immature technologies directly into high-rate manufacturing environments, we can develop and prove them separately before transferring them into our commercial or defense businesses when they are ready for production. That gives our customers a more complete pathway from technology development to manufacturing and is an important part of the solutions we provide.”
The company is actively investing in both its footprint and technology capabilities as it
48