RTI, Boeing ink a 10-year deal

The contract will provide $900 million in revenue
for the titanium company.

By DON SHILLING

VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR

WEATHERSFIELD — RTI International Metals has signed a 10-year deal to supply titanium components for the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

The deal will produce a total of $900 million in revenue for the Weathersfield-based company, starting next year.

RTI’s Houston and Montreal plants will produce components used for seat tracks on the floor of the plane.

Since May, RTI has announced long-term contracts that will produce about $4 billion in revenue.

RTI stock lost 94 cents a share, or 1.4 percent, Monday to close at $67.47. The stock has traded between $58.42 and $101.49 in the past year.

The latest contract extends RTI’s role with the Dreamliner, a new model that is expected to begin flying next year.

Last year, RTI signed a five-year deal to provide structural floor parts for the plane. That contract called for RTI to be a subcontractor with Fuji Heavy Industries and Kawasaki Heavy Industries.

In a conference call with industry analysts Monday, RTI officials said more than 90 percent of the work in the new contract will be in addition to the previous contract.

Dawne Hickton, vice chairman and chief executive of RTI, said the new contract is the first agreement that the company has had to supply Boeing directly.

RTI will extrude titanium at its Houston plant and then perform additional processing work in Montreal. Hickton said RTI also will coordinate some work with suppliers.

Boeing is expanding its use of titanium with the Dreamliner in order to reduce weight, she said.

The contract will begin at low levels next year but will produce revenues of more than $100 million annually beginning in 2010, she said.

This contract shows how much RTI has diversified, Hickton said. The company has been investing in its fabrication and distribution group so that it can provide finished parts to manufacturers, not just titanium slabs and billets that are processed by someone else.

RTI owns RMI Titanium Co., which produces titanium products in Weathersfield. RTI has been upgrading its titanium plants in Weathersfield and Canton and has said that it plans to add more capacity to produce titanium.

shilling@vindy.com