This article is based on an official press release from DRF Luftrettung.

DRF Maintenance Opens New Hangar in Straubing to Serve Southern Germany

DRF Maintenance GmbH, a subsidiary of the non-profit air rescue organization DRF Luftrettung, has officially commenced operations at its new MRO facility at Straubing-Wallmühle Airport (EDMS) in Lower Bavaria. According to a company press release issued in early January 2026, the new hangar is now fully operational and has already completed its first major maintenance contract.

The expansion marks a strategic effort to decentralize maintenance, repair, and overhaul capabilities, specifically targeting fleet availability in Southern Germany and neighboring Austria. By establishing a foothold in Bavaria, the organization aims to reduce downtime associated with ferry flights to its primary headquarters.

Expanded MRO Capabilities and Infrastructure

The new Straubing facility operates as an EASA Part 145 certified maintenance organization. DRF Maintenance confirmed that the site is currently specialized in Base Maintenance for Airbus EC155 and H145 helicopters. The company plans to expand these capabilities in the near future to include the Airbus H135, a staple airframe in European air rescue fleets.

According to the announcement, the hangar is equipped with specialized maintenance docks and modern workstations designed for complex technical tasks. The infrastructure includes dedicated workshops for sheet metal repairs and avionics, allowing on-site technicians to handle base maintenance, detailed inspections, and modifications without outsourcing critical steps.

First Contract Completion

DRF Maintenance reported that the facility hit the ground running, successfully completing a comprehensive maintenance project immediately upon opening. The initial contract involved an “official helicopter”, designating a government or authority aircraft, which underwent software updates and detailed inspections of its engines and avionics systems.

Strategic Network Growth

The Straubing location serves as a complementary hub to DRF Maintenance’s existing network. The organization’s primary facility remains in Rheinmünster (Baden-Württemberg) at the Karlsruhe/Baden-Baden Airport, which is recognized as one of Europe’s largest helicopter MRO centers. A separate facility in Wilhelmshaven serves Northern Germany.

In the press release, the company emphasized that the Straubing site was selected to serve as a regional hub. This location is intended to support:

• Internal Fleet: DRF Luftrettung helicopters stationed at nearby HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Services) bases.
• External Clients: Private operators, public/government fleets, and ARA Flugrettung (DRF’s Austrian subsidiary).

Hendrik Schubien, Managing Director of DRF Maintenance GmbH, highlighted the customer-centric focus of the expansion:

“The opening in Straubing is an important step, both for us and for our customers. It brings our service quality closer to them and at the same time enables more efficient processes. As part of DRF Luftrettung, we benefit from over 50 years of experience in air rescue and maintenance. This expertise remains at the heart of our quality promise.”

, Hendrik Schubien, Managing Director of DRF Maintenance GmbH

AirPro News Analysis

The opening of the Straubing hangar represents a logical logistical evolution for DRF Luftrettung. As operators modernize their fleets, DRF recently transitioned to the five-bladed H145 (D3) and modern H135s, the demand for specialized, certified maintenance slots increases. By placing a Part 145 facility in Southeast Germany, the operator significantly cuts the “non-productive” flight hours previously required to ferry aircraft across the country to Rheinmünster for routine heavy maintenance.

Furthermore, the inclusion of third-party service capabilities suggests a business model designed to offset operational costs. Straubing-Wallmühle Airport is already an established ecosystem for aviation technology (hosting companies like Avionik Straubing), making it an attractive location for external clients seeking high-standard MRO services in the region.

Sources

• DRF Luftrettung

This article summarizes reporting by the Chicago Tribune and official announcements from AkzoNobel. This article summarizes publicly available elements and public remarks.

AkzoNobel Invests $58 Million to Modernize Waukegan Aerospace Hub

AkzoNobel has announced a significant capital injection of €50 million (approximately $58 million) into its Waukegan, Illinois, facility, solidifying the site’s status as the company’s largest aerospace coatings production plant in the world. According to reporting by the Chicago Tribune and official company statements released in early January 2026, the project aims to modernize manufacturing capabilities and expand capacity to meet surging global travel demand.

The investment involves a strategic reorganization of AkzoNobel’s North American footprint. While the Waukegan site will focus on intensified manufacturing, warehousing operations are set to relocate to a new facility in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. This shift allows the company to repurpose existing storage space in Illinois for production lines, directly addressing the need for higher output.

Scope of the Expansion

The upgrade focuses on what AkzoNobel describes as “Industrial Excellence,” a program designed to streamline operations through advanced automation and improved workflow. The Waukegan facility, located at 1 East Water Street, currently spans 11 acres and employs approximately 200 people.

According to details shared in the company’s announcement, the modernization will be executed in two phases. The primary goal is to enhance supply chain resilience in North America, offering shorter lead times for airline and MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Operations) customers.

Technological Upgrades

The investment will fund the installation of state-of-the-art machinery intended to increase throughput and consistency. Key technical enhancements include:

• Liquid Pre-Batch Area: A dedicated zone designed to improve the efficiency of mixing and preparing coating formulations.
• High-Speed Dissolvers: New technology aimed at accelerating the dissolving process for various coating components.
• Rapid Service Unit: A specialized operational unit focused on the MRO market, ensuring faster turnaround times for urgent aircraft repair needs.

Strategic Context and Market Demand

The decision to expand comes as the aerospace industry prepares for a projected rise in global air travel. Airlines and manufacturers are increasingly requiring specialized coatings for both new aircraft deliveries and the maintenance of existing fleets. By moving finished goods storage to the new Wisconsin facility, AkzoNobel expects to significantly increase its production capacity for primers, basecoats, clearcoats, and custom colors.

Patrick Bourguignon, Director of AkzoNobel’s Automotive and Specialty Coatings business, emphasized the strategic necessity of the move in a press statement:

“This investment will increase our comprehensive North American supply capability and solidify our position as a frontrunner in the aerospace coatings industry. Demand for air travel is expected to grow significantly over the next few years and we want to make sure our customers are able to meet that demand with aircraft of the highest quality.”

Operational Flexibility

Beyond raw capacity, the upgrades are designed to offer greater flexibility in production batch sizes. Martijn Arkesteijn, Global Operations Director for AkzoNobel Aerospace Coatings, noted that the improvements would directly benefit customer timelines.

“We’ll be able to provide current and future customers with even more flexibility through the delivery of large batch sizes, better responsiveness to market needs and shorter lead time for color development.”

Sustainability Targets

While the primary focus of the investment is operational efficiency, AkzoNobel has stated that the project aligns with its broader environmental goals. The company aims to reduce carbon emissions by 50% by 2030 (using a 2018 baseline) and transition toward 100% renewable electricity. The new equipment installed at the Waukegan plant is expected to reduce energy intensity per unit of production, supporting these corporate sustainability targets.

AirPro News Analysis

The separation of manufacturing and warehousing is a growing trend among industrial suppliers facing land constraints in established industrial zones. By decoupling storage from production, AkzoNobel effectively unlocks new square footage for value-added manufacturing without the need to acquire adjacent land, which can be difficult in developed areas like Waukegan. This move suggests a prioritization of speed and volume, critical factors as the aerospace supply chain continues to recover and expand post-pandemic.

Sources

Sources: Chicago Tribune, AkzoNobel Official Announcements

This article is based on an official press release from Daher.

Daher Wins 2026 JEC Innovation Award for Thermoplastic Wing Rib

On January 12, 2026, the French industrial conglomerate Daher was announced as the winner of the prestigious 2026 JEC Composites Innovation Award in the “Aerospace – Parts” category. The award recognizes the company’s development of a “Highly Loaded Thermoplastic Wing Rib,” a critical structural component designed to meet the rigorous demands of future single-aisle Commercial-Aircraft programs.

According to the company’s announcement, this innovation represents a significant leap forward in the application of thermoplastic composites. While previous applications were often limited to thinner, secondary parts, this project demonstrates the viability of thermoplastics for thick, primary aerostructures that must withstand heavy mechanical loads.

Breaking Boundaries in Composite Manufacturing

The award-winning component is a structural breakthrough for the aerospace industry. Traditionally, primary structures like wing ribs, which maintain the aerodynamic shape of the wing and transfer loads between the skin and spars, have been manufactured using aluminum or thermoset composites that require lengthy autoclave curing cycles.

Daher’s new rib is a thick laminate structure consisting of up to 64 plies, reaching a thickness of approximately 12mm. By successfully manufacturing a part of this density and complexity using thermoplastics, Daher has proven that the material can replace metal in the most demanding areas of an airframe.

Collaborative Development

The project was executed through a strategic consortium involving several key European partners, each contributing specialized expertise to the Manufacturing chain:

• Victrex (UK): Supplied the specific material, a Carbon Fiber Reinforced Thermoplastic (CFRTP) using LMPAEK (Low Melt Polyaryletherketone) unidirectional tape.
• LIST (Luxembourg): Developed a novel Infrared (IR) welding process to assemble the rib.
• CETIM (France): Designed the mechanical test bench to validate the component under flight-certification loads.
• AniForm (Netherlands): Provided advanced simulation Software to predict distortion and ensure “first-time-right” manufacturing.

Technical Innovations and Process Efficiency

The success of the “Highly Loaded Thermoplastic Wing Rib” relies on the integration of two patented processes that streamline production and eliminate traditional manufacturing bottlenecks.

First, the rib utilizes Direct Stamping®, a Daher-patented process. According to the press release, this technique eliminates the intermediate “consolidation” step typically required between layering fibers (layup) and the stamping phase. By removing this step, the production cycle is significantly shortened, and energy consumption is reduced.

Second, the assembly utilizes Infrared (IR) Welding, a patent held by the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST). Instead of using heavy metal rivets or bolts to assemble the rib’s T-shaped profile, the partners used IR welding to create a continuous, integrated composite structure. This approach eliminates the weight of fasteners and improves the overall integrity of the part.

“This JEC Award rewards our commitment to advancing composite technologies for aeronautics. We believe in it: by combining innovative materials and advanced processes, we demonstrate that it is possible to combine performance, competitiveness, and reduction of the carbon footprint.”

, Dominique Bailly, R&D Director at Daher

Performance Metrics and Environmental Impact

The shift to thermoplastics and the elimination of fasteners has yielded quantifiable performance improvements. Data provided by Daher highlights the following metrics for the new wing rib compared to traditional aluminum or bolted metal assemblies:

• Weight Reduction: The component is 22% lighter than its aluminum equivalent.
• Cost Efficiency: Assembly costs are reduced by 15% compared to bolted metal solutions.
• Production Speed: The overall production cycle time is reduced by 25%.
• Sustainability: The technology saves an estimated 12.5 tons of CO₂ per rib over the lifecycle of a single-aisle aircraft.

AirPro News Analysis

The significance of this award extends beyond a single component; it addresses the “holy grail” of next-generation aircraft manufacturing: rate. As Airbus and Boeing look toward successors for the A320 and 737 families, they face the requirement of producing wings at unprecedented rates, potentially 75 to 100 aircraft per month.

Traditional thermoset composites, while light, are chemically slow to cure, creating a bottleneck in the factory. Thermoplastics, which can be stamped, melted, and welded in minutes, are widely viewed as the necessary enabler for these high-rate programs. By demonstrating that thermoplastics can handle the structural loads of a primary wing rib, Daher is positioning itself as a critical supplier for the “Wing of Tomorrow.” Furthermore, the use of induction welding (seen in their 2025 Torsion Box project) and now IR welding suggests Daher is building a diverse toolkit of joining technologies to eliminate rivets entirely from future airframes.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is LMPAEK?

LMPAEK stands for Low Melt Polyaryletherketone. It is a high-performance thermoplastic polymer that offers high heat resistance and mechanical strength but can be processed at lower temperatures than traditional PEEK, making it faster and more energy-efficient to manufacture.

Why is Infrared (IR) welding important?

IR welding allows for the assembly of composite parts without mechanical fasteners like rivets or bolts. This reduces the overall weight of the aircraft and eliminates the labor-intensive process of drilling thousands of holes, which speeds up production.

What is the primary advantage of thermoplastics over thermosets?

Unlike thermosets, which undergo a permanent chemical change during curing and cannot be reshaped, thermoplastics can be melted and reshaped multiple times. This makes them recyclable and allows for much faster manufacturing cycles (minutes vs. hours).

Sources: Daher