TAI's composite materials plant to be world's 4th largest

Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. (TUSAŞ/TAI) is building a $181-million composite materials factory at its main campus in Kahramankazan, Ankara.

Composite materials are used in different fields, particularly in defense, to build everything from cars, missiles and aircraft bodies to armor.

The new factory will employ at least 1,000 engineers and cover an area of 95,000 square meters, the largest composite production facility under a single roof in Turkey and the fourth largest in the world.

Composite materials, like carbon fiber, are formed by combining at least two different materials in macro dimensions.

The composite materials have a billion-dollar market and are dominated by a handful of countries. The factory in Kahramankazan is poised to meet 2% of the world's air structural composite needs. The price of a kilogram of the composite material produced at the factory can reach up to $1,500. The factory will make precise and error-free production with artificial intelligence (AI)-driven robotic arms, as well as autonomous and state-of-the-art equipment.

Once operational at full capacity, the facility will employ over 1,000 people and production will use advanced technology.

The facility will produce structural parts for vehicles like aircraft and helicopters, develop new product designs and make high-level technological production.

It smart, digital factory will use virtual and augmented reality applications. According to the composite type, specialized robotic and autonomous equipment will make precise and error-free production using AI-driven robotic arms.

TAI experts said work was underway to put the facility into service as soon as possible. "TAI will increase its production capacity to a great extent with this investment and will contribute to Turkey's economy through exports. TAI, which conducts collaborations with multinational companies in addition to producing original products will also manufacture for global aviation giants such as Airbus and Boeing, as well as for its domestically developed aircraft," the experts further stressed, adding that the recruitment of engineers for the plant has already started.