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Parachute Maker Irvin Aerospace Billows in New, Larger Space

Parachute Maker Irvin Aerospace Billows in New, Larger Space

By CHRIS CZIBORR





Irvin Aerospace Inc., a Hope Mills, N.C.-maker of parachute systems, has more than doubled the space of its Santa Ana marketing and engineering facility with a move into new, nearby digs at 3701 W. Warner Ave.

The company made the move to handle an expected spike in demand for parachutes from the Defense Department, its major customer. Irvin is one of several local defense contractors riding a wave of stepped up military spending that started before Sept. 11 and is set to gain steam since the terrorist attacks.

“We’re just at the tip of the iceberg in demand,we’re getting ready for a surge,” said Phil Delurgio, Irvin’s vice president of marketing. “The demand by military reserves is expanding.”

Delurgio said the company plans to hire during the year, but wouldn’t disclose a figure.

“We’re just setting our lines right now, but we’re not going to let all that extra space go idle,” he said.

The company had about 105 employees at its former facility, and has added 15 since the move for a total of 120.

“We needed more engineering and office space, as well as manufacturing floor space,” Delurgio said. “The situation following Sept. 11 has heavily increased demand for what we make, especially for parachute recovery systems for both military and civilian aircraft.”

Irvin’s former facility at 3011 S. Croddy Way in Santa Ana had 29,000 square feet. The move puts the unit in 62,409 square feet with a five-year lease valued at $2.7 million. The company is subleasing its old space.

The company makes parachute systems used for aircraft navigation, recovery and cargo drops, as well as systems for personnel that include ejection seats. Irvin makes the landing parachute-based brake system for the space shuttles as well as parachutes used to recover the solid-fuel rocket boosters on shuttle launches.

Irvin in Santa Ana last year recorded $19 million in revenue, with sales forecast this year to reach $22 million, Delurgio said.

About 90% of Irvin’s work is military, according to Delurgio.

The uptick in defense spending started about a year ago, he said.

“There was a major initiative by the U.S. Army to replace the T-10 mass assault troop parachute with the XT-11,” he said. “The new design is more stable and can carry more trooper weight with a slower rate of descent than the existing technology.”

About 60% of the company’s work consists of prime contract output. Some 85% of that is Defense Department work and the rest is for foreign militaries, including those of NATO allies and Singapore, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.

The remaining 40% of Irvin’s total work is performed on a subcontract basis for companies such as Chicago-based The Boeing Co., Bethseda, Md.-based Lockheed Martin Corp., Orlando, Fla.-based Coleman Aerospace and Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va.

Irvin does commercial work for Montreal-based Bombardier Inc. and Wichita, Kan.-based Cessna Aircraft Co., a division of Providence, R.I.-based Textron Inc.

Chief competitors include Santa Ana-based FXC Corp.’s Guardian Parachute unit, San Diego-based Paranetics Technology Inc., South Windsor, Conn.-based Pioneer Aerospace Corp. and Mills Manufacturing Corp. of Asheville, N.C.

Irvin Aerospace is a subsidiary of Britain’s Irvin Group.

Irvin’s new facility sits on 3.5 acres and features heavy power, four loading docks, four drive-in bays and more than 9,000 square feet of office space.

Joe Erickson of Isidore C. Meyers Properties Inc. represented Irvin Aerospace in the lease transaction, while David Desper of CB Richard Ellis Services Inc. represented the landlord, Warner-Susan Business Park LLC.

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