The final assembly of first C919 jet plane, a kind of commercial plane developed by China, was finished on 2nd Nov in COMAC’s Pudong Plant. While ACT Materials, a private-owned company located in Songjiang, was at the final stage of becoming COMAC’s first qualified non-metallic material supplier.

Honeycomb Core Makes Planes Lighter

Aramid honeycomb core is similar with bee hive in structure but made of aramid paper and dipped with resin. ACT core is so light. You may not notice its existence when holding a small piece in hands. But it’s tough enough to support a man when laid on the ground. And it’s nonflammable, corrosion resisted and easy to shape. Even stiffer than steel given the same weight. That’s why Boeing and Airbus adopt this material in their planes to save weight for decades.

ACT “Zero defect” Standards 

It's known to all, aero industry requires consistent high quality products. ACT was established in 2011. A total new company. How could ACT get approval from COMAC?

Mr Ji Wenzhong, production director of ACT, said "We set up our production line, testing lab and quality system according to international standards. We could track down every slice we made. All samples and records, even those happened in trail production, will be kept for at least ten year. We signed an agreement with COMAC in 2013. Now we are getting closed to final stage. That’s more than 2 years. We have modified our PCD dozens of times during this period. Now ACT has won COMAC’s trust and drawn Boeing and Airbus’s attention. For example, ACT core has been adopted in newest Airbus A350."

Craftsmen Spirit for Aero Industry

Mr Gong Lixun said “We have to overcome two difficulties before we could achieve mass sales. We have to get approvals of aero industry first. And it takes time for domestic aero market to adopt our material after that. Maybe only few people could believe ACT, a small private-owned company, could stay in the field without any  profit for so long. But to ACT team, craftsmen spirits we bear in mind is a must for aero industry. That’s why ACT could stay and earn its advantages in developing new product. China’s big plane project is a rare chance for China industry. We hope we could be a world-class competitive company in hi-tech industry. And we have to thank Songjiang Economy Committee, Songjiang Scientific and Technological Commission and Songjiang Developing Area Government for their support. As we can see, China is making progress in big plane project. We hope there will be more and more hi-tech companies follow ACT’s steps in aero business in Songjiang.”