Ascent Aerospace
"Driving Manufacturing Excellence"
US aerospace tooling & automation integrator; largest consolidated tooling group with 11 locations serving Boeing, Airbus, and Lockheed Martin.
Ascent Aerospace is a world-renowned, single-source manufacturer and integrator of aerospace tooling and automated assembly systems, headquartered in Macomb Township, Michigan. The company was formally consolidated under the Ascent Aerospace brand in 2017 when American Industrial Partners unified five heritage businesses — Coast Composites (founded 1988), Odyssey Industries (1984), Global Tooling Systems (1995), Brown Aerospace/Gemcor (automated fastening, founded 1937), and Ascent Integration Europe (formerly AREVA's aerospace division) — under one brand following AIP's 2012 acquisition of the original three entities.
The company operates 11 locations across the US (Macomb Township MI, Lake Orion MI, Santa Ana CA, Bothell WA, Buffalo NY), Germany (Hamburg), France (Toulouse, Saint-Nazaire), UK (Broughton), and Japan (Nagoya), with over 780,000 ft² of combined manufacturing space and more than 800 employees.
Ascent's product portfolio covers four primary pillars: (1) Tooling — including composite and metallic layup molds (including the largest Invar molds ever produced), assembly jigs and fixtures, facility tooling, trim and drill fixtures, and additive-manufactured tooling using large-format 3D printing; (2) Automation — alignment systems, automated drill-and-fasten systems, Drivmatic solutions, and part fabrication systems; (3) Integration — full turnkey assembly line integration, primarily for Airbus programs in Europe; and (4) Engineering Services — solution development, manufacturing support, and lifecycle support.
Customers include Boeing, Airbus, Lockheed Martin (Ascent won Elite Supplier recognition in 2014, 2016, and 2017 for F-35 final assembly work stands), Sikorsky (Program Supplier of the Year 2017 for CH-148 Cyclone tooling), and numerous prime defense contractors. Virtually every western commercial aircraft in production today uses Ascent tooling or automation equipment.
All manufacturing locations hold AS9100D and ISO 9001 certifications. The company is ITAR-registered. Ascent is privately held under American Industrial Partners.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
Invar Composite Mold Tooling
Large-scale Invar layup molds for aerospace composite structures — the largest Invar molds ever produced commercially.
Drivmatic Automated Fastening System
Automated drill-and-fasten end effector for aerospace structural assembly, originally developed by Gemcor (founded 1937).
Contact Ascent Aerospace
WEBSITE
https://ascentaerospace.comPHONE
-6718HEADQUARTERS
United States
Company Facts
Founded
2012
Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
-
Primary Region
North America
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
-
Funding Total
-
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