Ten years for Sonaca Montreal!

Mirabel company celebrates its anniversary by marking the completion of its plant expansion and adding state-of-the-art surface treatment equipment

MIRABEL, QC, Oct. 16, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - Sonaca Montreal celebrated its 10th anniversary today at its Mirabel plant. This event coincides with the completion of the expansion of its facilities and its operations as announced in 2007.

Sylvain Bédard, CEO of Sonaca Montreal, applauded the determination and the work done by the team over the past 10 years. "Today is an opportunity not only to celebrate our 10th anniversary, but also the completion of a big project for Sonaca Montreal. We have been expanding gradually since 2007. Despite the 2008 financial crisis, which hit the global aerospace industry hard, Sonaca Montreal never gave up or lost sight of its objectives. We can now say loud and clear: mission accomplished! We are now in a better position than at the time of the global financial crisis. We have 30% more employees than in 2007, our plant has almost doubled in size, we are better equipped and we have significantly increased our production capacity."

A larger, better-equipped plant
Following a $20 million investment, the extension and expansion of operations at Sonaca Montreal's Mirabel plant, which began in 2007, has proven to be a success. The size of the facility has increased from 130,000 to 230,000 square feet; 75 new jobs have been created and production capacity has increased by 30% to 50%, depending on the sector.

Sonaca Montreal's production line, which is at the cutting edge of technology, now has the ultimate equipment for anodizing, a process that generates a continuous electrical current in a chromic acid bath to oxidze the alloy used in manufacturing the aircraft wings produced at the plant, to protect against corrosion.

The new anodizing equipment and non-destructive testing with dye penetrant at Sonaca Montreal's plant can handle very large panels. This has enabled the company to develop its clientele and significantly increase its production output, which gives it an undeniable competitive edge.

A promising future for Sonaca Montreal
Sonaca Montreal is optimistic about its future. With close to 320 employees and and a well-filled order book (85% of the regional aircraft market and 50% of the business aircraft market), Sonaca Montreal is successfully meeting the demands of its most stringent customers, who represent the world's largest manufacturers of regional and business aircraft. They include Embraer, Israel Aircraft Industries, Mécachrome Canada, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Spirit Aerosystems and Bombardier Aerospace, which in July confirmed it would soon be renewing all of its contracts with Sonaca Montreal to manufacture wing panels for Bombardier's programs for the period 2014-2018.

About Sonaca Montreal
Sonaca Montreal is a subsidiary of the Belgian group Sonaca S.A. The company manufactures large aerospace aluminum structures for the aviation industry. Its core business involves the machining, surface treatment and assembly of aircraft wing panels. Sonaca Montreal's clients are the most important manufacturers of regional and business jets in the world. Sonaca Montreal is located in Mirabel, Quebec, where it employs more than 310 people. For more information on Sonaca Montreal, visit www.sonacamontreal.com.

SOURCE: Sonaca Montreal

Geneviève Hinse
NATIONAL Public Relations
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