Dylan Aerospace :
How Future Thinking Enables Small Companies to Play David to Aerospace Goliaths
By Fiona McKay , Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance
Dylan Aerospace is a leading aerospace supplier based in Auburn , Washington . While the company currently only has 26 employees , the output , contracts and achievements of this relatively young company ( founded in 1999 ) rival those of many larger organizations — largely due to the adaptation of modern manufacturing technologies and a dynamic approach to management and recruitment .
Fiona McKay
Pacific Northwest Aerospace Alliance Business Development Director
www . pnaa . net
PNAA SPOTLIGHT
What is Dylan ?
Dylan currently manufactures more than 5,000 products for integration into a variety of aircraft platforms manufactured by leading OEMs and Prime aerospace suppliers . They have been a Tier 1 supplier to Boeing for over six years and can boast many achievements that most suppliers can only dream of , including being multi-year winners of Boeing ’ s Supplier of the Year Award .
Capabilities and Products
1 . Fabrication , machining , finishing , integration
2 . Close tolerance aluminum , specialty alloy and sheet metal 3 . 23 inches cubed 4 . Structural components , assemblies and kits
Automation across the board
Step inside Dylan ’ s facility and you ’ ll see that automation is intrinsic to their thinking . From how they manage material and process certifications , to their CNC programming code — including their proprietary process driven software applications — to the manner in which they approach building parts and ensure process control , automation is everywhere . Early on Dylan ’ s founder recognized that efficiency through automation was key to profitability . As a small shop Dylan was early to recognize and adopt multi-pallet cellular manufacturing systems . In addition to their horizontal Toyoda cell , almost every stand-alone machine tool at Dylan has a pallet changer .
Good use of both traditional programmable ( Brown & Sharpe ) and portable ( Romer ) CMMs ensures that the high throughput still meets customer requirements . All of this enables more productivity per employee without the need for the traditionally high headcount . As demand in the industry continues to grow there ’ s potential for Dylan to expand production significantly , as described by General Manager Timothy Temple , who shares that ,
“ It is a challenge to keep the machines at capacity because with talented programmers and the high spindle availability in cell systems , they yearn for work statement .”
48 NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS