Umeco plc, ("Umeco"), Europe's leading provider of value-added distribution services to the aerospace and defence industries, is pleased to announce an important contract award for its Components Division, and the commissioning of a major new North American facility.

Contract award
Pattonair International, the provider of component supply and distribution services to the aerospace and defence industries, has been awarded a three-year contract by ITP of Spain to supply 'C' class components to their Bilbao facility. The estimated value of this contract over the three-year period is between £9m and £10m. ITP is a major sub-contractor to Rolls-Royce plc, both in Germany and the UK, supporting major programmes including the Trent 500 (Airbus A340-500/600) and the EJ200 (Eurofighter).

New North American facility
Abscoa Industries, the leading North American provider of inventory management and fastener distribution programmes acquired by Umeco in June 2001, has established a new 5,000 square feet facility in Montreal, Canada to service its growing customer base in the region, including Bombardier Aerospace, Bell Helicopter and Heroux Devtek. The facility will house a locally focused sales team together with the inventory required to support the existing and developing customer base in a region which has one of the largest concentration of aerospace manufacturing companies in the world.