Firth Rixson Limited has announced the appointment of William Cotton as general manager of Firth Rixson Aerospace Components (Suzhou) Company, Ltd. "This is a timely appointment, as the plant is now entering its first-article-production phase and the venture will benefit from the experienced leadership Bill will provide," said Armand F. Lauzon, Jr., the company’s CEO.
Cotton has spent more than 40 years in the forging industry, in manufacturing leadership positions of increasing responsibility. Prior to assuming his current position, Cotton was general manager of the company’s forging operations in Darley Dale, UK, and Eger, Hungary. In his new role, he will be responsible for the installation, commissioning, and operation of Firth Rixson’s 50,000-sq-ft, wholly owned subsidiary in the Suzhou Industrial Park, near Shanghai.
Firth Rixson Aerospace Components is the first foreign-owned seamless-ring-forging plant to be built in China. The plant will make ring products for Chinese and other Asian aerospace customers. The operation will commence full production early in 2006.
Firth Rixson Limited (www.firthrixson.com ) owns 15 operating facilities in North America, Europe and Asia. It was formed in 2003 from a merger of UK-based Firth Rixson and US-based Forged Metals, Inc. It is majority owned by The Carlyle Group (www.carlyle.com), a global private equity firm.