Specialty Silicone Products (SSP) makes cargo aircraft silicones that meet aerospace and military specifications.
Cargo flights are returning to pre-pandemic levels according to Jeffries Equity Research, a global investment banking firm. To keep up with demand, airlines are converting widebody passenger jets to freighters. They’re also buying new cargo aircraft even though asset prices are significantly higher than their historical average. There are opportunities out there, but where can you find them?
Boeing, Textron, and Airbus
Today, Boeing accounts for 54% of all cargo haulers – and its fleet size is an impressive 29% larger than in 2019. The B767 is the largest part of this Boeing-built fleet (528 aircraft), but the B777 isn’t especially far behind (416 aircraft). Textron, the manufacturer of the Cessna Caravan, has 368 of its rugged turboprop aircraft in service for deliveries. Â
Aircraft built by Airbus are also involved in cargo hauling. For example, Hawaiian Air recently partnered with Amazon to operate Airbus freighters for the world’s largest online retailer. Two other airlines, Cathay Pacific and Lufthansa have added Swiss WorldCargo to a network that boasts air capacity in Asia and Europe, two of the world’s largest markets.
Aviation Assets and Profitability
For the airlines, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and aviation maintenance repair and overhaul (AvMRO) organizations involved, keeping these planes flying is a key to profitability. Supply chains remain constrained, however, and workforce challenges abound. Whether it’s on the assembly line or the flight line, a stock-out of silicones or silicone products such as gaskets and O-rings can have costly consequences.
There are other risks as well. Many silicone suppliers claim that their products meet aerospace industry specifications like AA59588 (formerly ZZR), MIL-DTL-25988C, and AMS 3301, 3302, and 3303. Sometimes, however, a supplier’s original testing was performed on a formula that’s no longer the same. Often, this happens because of lower-cost or discontinued inputs, or supplier changes and consolidations.
Cargo Aircraft Silicones from SSP
Specialty Silicone Products (SSP) isn’t known as the low-cost leader in AA59588, MIL-DTL-25988C, or AMS silicones. Instead, we’re known for our adherence to specifications, full on-site test lab, lower minimum order quantities (MOQs), and full certifications. When you buy aerospace silicones from us, you can be sure that you and your customers are getting true specifications-grade silicones.
SSP manages its supply chain carefully and can provide you with Certificates of Compliance (COCs) or Certificates of Analysis (COAs). COCs attest to a batch’s compliance with requirements. COAs contain the results from the quality control (QC) testing that we perform for individual batches of products. For aerospace industry customers, SSP’s ability to provide data-driven COAs is the proof that you need.
To learn more, contact SSP online or email Dominic Testo, SSP’s Business Development Manager. Â
