Griffon Aerospace, Inc. | Huntsville, Alabama
Company Information:
Griffon Aerospace, Inc., is a high-tech composites firm that designs and builds a 220-mph, six 6-place composite aircraft called Lionheart. The company was founded in 1993 and has seven employees.
Situation:
Larry French, aerospace engineer and Griffon founder, was looking for a way to expand and diversify his business while utilizing his highly skilled work force, composite tooling, equipment and excess capacity. Many of the skills and processes used in aircraft manufacturing are easily transferable to projects of interest to UAH and NASA.
Center Assistance:
The ATN-UAH teamed with Griffon Aerospace, Inc. to obtain a contract to redesign tooling and build a prototype composite satellite panel for NASA/MSFC. The lean team provided project management and materials, and Griffon provided engineering and facilities. The project was completed within one month from receipt of the contract.
Results:
The successful completion of this project led to the team submitting a proposal to build the test and flight hardware. If awarded, the contract could bring nearly $500,000 of new business to Griffon Aerospace in the next 2.5 years.
Client Comments:
“Griffon Aerospace is pleased with the new opportunities available with ATN-UAH. Our relationship with Mr. Cranston is a great asset to our company. He has been instrumental in helping us venture out into this new area of commerce. Typically we have been involved primarily in producing our kit aircraft but have desired to branch out into other endeavors. Our relationship with Mr. Cranston and the ATN-UAH team is beneficial to the vision and goals of Griffon Aerospace and serves to create team-building and technology transfer among Huntsville area businesses and educational facilities.” – Larry French, Founder.