The cooperation between FACC and Airbus has been successfully expanded: The FACC AG was awarded a contract from Airbus for the development and manufacture of winglets for the new Airbus A350 XWB aircraft Family.

This contract has a special meaning for FACC and allows the leading Austrian aerospace supplier to use now its many years of experience in the design, development and production of wing tips in the new aircraft of the Airbus fleet. "In various winglet programs, including the flight test winglet prototype for the Airbus A320, we have been able to prove our innovation, our extensive manufacturing expertise and our global competitiveness," said Walter Stephan, CEO of FACC AG. "The more we are pleased that Airbus has again selected FACC as a prime contractor and systems supplier for its cutting-edge long-haul aircraft. Based on our advanced composite technology we will make every effort to provide an important contribution to the efficiency and aerodynamics of the A350 XWB."

This commitment underpins FACC's favorable position among the world's winglet suppliers. The responsibility for the development and production of various winglet systems has allowed FACC to develop into a strong-performance competency center for winglets. The production line was planned to fulfill the requirements of high automatisation and shorter production time, as well as the use of the smallest production area. Through ongoing product improvement by our product technicians, an efficient production is assured. As an experienced winglet system partner FACC can contribute many innovations to the winglet design and can obtain increased efficiency, cost saving and weight reduction.

Airbus and FACC will closely cooperate in the development of the winglets for the new A350 XWB. The future serial production of the winglets will be carried out in the FACC manufacturing plant in Ried, Austria, whereby at full production capacity in 2016 an average of 100 employees will be working on the programme.

In addition to the A350's winglets, the company also develops and manufactures the A350 XWB's spoilers, translating sleeves, various engine components, the luggage compartments and the door linings for Airbus as well as for suppliers to the A350 programme, including Goodrich, Rolls-Royce, Eurocopter and Diehl Aircabin.

Winglets are wing extensions that increase the aspect ratio of a wing and thus the lift generated at the wingtip. The better aerodynamics result in an improved operation efficiency, a lower fuel consumption and a longer range.