Cut Crimps DynaBil's Plans

Aerospace manufacturer DynaBil Industries Inc. stands to see a hard-won piece of business evaporate with the U.S. Army's cancellation of the Comanche helicopter program. The Army requested Feb. 23 that plans to develop and produce the sleek, fast, stealth helicopters be canceled. While certainly not the only company to be affected by the loss of business, this small supplier will feel the crunch much harder than larger entities, such as Boeing or Sikorsky.

"We'll get paid for what we've done," said Hugh Quigley, president of the company. "I'm more upset because of the long-range business we're going to lose because of this."

That would be a blow to DynaBil, which makes parts for both commercial and defense aircraft. In 2003, the company generated $14 million in sales. It won a contract to make parts such as titanium firewalls and exhaust systems on the Comanche, which was being co-developed by Chicago based Boeing Co. and Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. of Stratford (CT).

DynaBil expected the contract to bring in between $2 million and $3 million in 2004. It was also a welcome bit of diversification for the company, which was hit hard by the downturn in commercial aviation that followed Sept. 11. While commercial giants such as Boeing had been buffeted by massive changes in the aerospace industry, smaller suppliers such as DynaBil had to deal with trickle-down turbulence.

"It's not good news, but it's not devastating either," said Quigley. "We've got to go work harder at something else, that's all."

The fate of the Comanche is now a political football. Some lawmakers have vowed to fight the program's cancellation. The Army has spent approximately $6.9 billion on the Comanche program over its 20-year history, and had planned to spend $14 billion on 121 Comanche helicopters by 2011. In 1999, the U.S. General Accounting Office released a report detailing potential cost overruns on the $48 billion project. Also, critics said that the craft does not fit into the military's future plans.

FMI: www.boeing.com/rotorcraft/military/rah66/rah66_back.htm