Senior Editor

Jerry Siebenmark

A Wichita parts supplier to the 737 Max announced Thursday&nbsp;that it doesn’t expect to furlough employees, despite Boeing and <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2019-12-20/spirit-suspend-737-max-fuselage-production">Spirit AeroSystems’ temporary production suspension</a> of the controversial variant of Boeing’s best-selling narrowbody airplane. “Our leadership team worked through the holidays to build a customer- and performance-focused plan that allows us to keep our team for the future intact,” HM Dunn president and CEO Phil Anderson said. “We believe in the 737 Max&nbsp;airplane and are confident that Boeing and regulators will successfully work together to safely return the airplane to service in the near future.”

 


HM Dunn, which operates two locations in Wichita as well as sites in Texas and Oklahoma, provides a variety of components for the Max, including the bulkhead, center wing box, and pylon structures. They are manufactured in Oklahoma and Wichita, where the company employs 294 workers.

 


Assignments on other airplane programs will be made for employees who work on Max production, including the Boeing 777 and 777X&nbsp;and KC-46A tanker; Lockheed Martin F-35 and F-16; Airbus A320; and Gulfstream’s G500 and G600. “While we are managing cash and liquidity closely, a diversified business mix helps a small company navigate the ebbs and flows of the global aerospace industry,” Anderson explained. “Over the past 24 months, we have strategically focused our efforts on diversification. Our success is providing us flexibility in the current situation while creating a stable and growing long-term company.”

 


On December 20, Wichita-based Spirit, Boeing’s largest supplier, announced it would suspend production of Max fuselages beginning January 1. Spirit’s announcement followed <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2019-12-16/boeing-halt-737-max-production-january">Boeing’s call for a temporary production halt </a>four days earlier.

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