RUAG Australia has completed a major upgrade to their Hydraulic Actuator Centre of Excellence manufacturing facilities in Bayswater.
The upgrade is set to significantly improve productivity, reduce lead times, and boost responsiveness. According to RUAG, the enhanced facility is now well-positioned to process and deliver on larger order volumes.
RUAG is the sole global source supplier for the uplock actuator system for F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program.
The upgraded Bayswater facility now includes a total of eleven CNC machining centers, with the final investment stage bringing three additional new machines online at the close of 2019. Improving on productivity, the machining centers are now configured into actuator work cells that focus on the customer value stream for efficient production. RUAG says this allows it to better integrate with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and their supply chains.
"Delivering capability redundancy - a customer priority - has been a key outcome of the manufacturing investment program," Terry Miles, General Manager RUAG Australia, said. “We understand the customer’s need for quick turnaround, affordability, and reliability. This upgrade allows us to streamline our supply chain, meet the rapidly increasing demand to support industry diversification, and deepen our participation in aerospace programs, such as the F-35."
“Our main customers from the defence industry, both international and domestic, demand continued top delivery performance, a reliable level of high-quality, sustainable processes, cost efficiency, committed resource allocation, and exemplary compliance," Stephan Jezler, Senior Vice President Aviation International, RUAG MRO International, said.