Lockheed Martin has entered a Mentor-Protege Agreement with Angeles Composite Technologies, Inc. (ACTI) of Port Angeles, Wash., and will assist the company as it becomes a supplier of advanced composite aircraft components.

ACTI is an Alaska Native-owned, small disadvantaged business located in an Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone). Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, an approved Department of Defense mentor, will leverage the Mentor-Protege relationship to help ACTI develop its capabilities for defense, aerospace and commercial markets during a three-year period, working through the U.S. Air Force Mentor-Protege office. Technology transfer in composites manufacturing will include hands-on training and fabrication of bismaleimide (BMI) panels and parts.

"We are committed to providing opportunities to small businesses. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it makes good business sense," said Gary Bailey, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics' vice president of Material Management. "Small businesses bring innovation, creativity and focus on cost, schedule and quality, which are essential elements of meeting our customers' requirements," Bailey said.

"Lockheed Martin will work toward developing ACTI into a first-class composite supplier, capable of producing more complex aerospace-quality structures for Department of Defense prime contractors in the aeronautics and space business areas," said Samuel E. Evans, director of Small Business and Non-Production Procurement for Lockheed Martin Aeronautics.

Composite components are used extensively in next-generation aircraft such as Lockheed Martin's F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II.

Lockheed Martin will team with three Historically Black Colleges/Universities in the initiative: Morehouse College Entrepreneurial Center located in Atlanta, Ga.; North Carolina A&T State University located in Greensboro, N.C.; and Clark Atlanta University located in Atlanta, Ga. These institutions will join with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics to provide training in business plans, quality procedures, marketing support, human resources, finance, contracts, and composite technology manufacturing capability. The Northwest American Indian Development Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) will provide Department of Defense cost accounting training and marketing assistance through a bid matching system.

"Angeles Composites Technology, Inc. will be a valuable strategic partner, adding critical capacity and capability as the need for advanced composite structures grows. ACTI will be a resource to provide skills training, jobs and economic benefit to the Port Angeles area," said Michael D. Rauch, president and chief executive officer of ACTI.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2005 sales of $37.2 billion.

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http://www.lockheedmartin.com/

FCMN Contact: joe.w.stout@lmco.com

SOURCE: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company