The manufacturer is planning a $77million project to add a new building to its Elma campus as it gears up for increased production.
“It’s reflecting the strength of the business and its growth in future years,” said Patrick Roche, who took the reins as Moog’s president and CEO this week.
The planned building will house “advanced manufacturing capabilities that we are developing,” Roche said. “We’re both developing our skills and adding our capacity to the facility here.”
Moog needs more production space with more work on the way in its aircraft controls and space and defense controls businesses. The project is the first of what could be three new buildings at the campus, a hub of manufacturing in the Buffalo Niagara region.
A big project on the horizon involves supporting production of a next-generation helicopter for the Army. Moog was part of the Bell Textron team whose bid was chosen over Lockheed Martin’s. Lockheed Martin has filed a protest, and the Government Accountability Office has until April 7 to issue a decision.
“We are expecting that that will be favorable for Textron, but at the moment we are in a hold while we await the outcome of that protest,” Roche said.
Moog on Friday reported net income of $46 million in the first quarter of its fiscal year, essentially unchanged from a year ago. Sales rose for each of its three business groups.
Moog’s aircraft controls sales business benefited from stronger commercial aftermarket sales, driven by an upswing in air travel.
“As we’ve had the recovery of flights, the airlines have really increased the usage of the widebody – the 787 and A350 – because they’re fuel-efficient airplanes, so we’ve seen that the flight hours of those have increased, actually up above pre-pandemic levels,” Roche said. “As a consequence of that, more flight hours and more aftermarket work for us.”
