Commercial Customers Benefit from New Source Corporation’s Service and Quality

At New Source Corporation, every customer deserves–and receives–excellence, whether they are a Defense OEM or a commercial enterprise. While a large focus is on the Defense sector, our commercial customers experience the same unwavering commitment to quality and service.

Over the past five years, our commercial sales have soared from less than 10% to nearly 20% of total revenue. This growth results from a deliberate strategy to focus on maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) customers and expand the company’s commercial reach.

New Source Corporation continues to grow, not just as a company, but as a trusted partner for our commercial clients. Our expanding commercial support demonstrates our commitment to overall quality.

“We tackle our commercial programs just like we do our Defense programs. We focus on relationships and work with customers to forecast their program needs, allowing us to preemptively bring in stock material to help them get the right parts at the right time and the right price,” New Source Corporation Sales Director Spencer Knouse said.

Commercial customers appreciate New Source Corporation’s commitment to service and quality. “The commercial sector is more hectic and sporadic, so we have to provide services that our competitors don’t, such as doubling or tripling our stock materials to ensure that our customers can get what they need when they need it,” Knouse said.

The most recent quarterly survey of major customers found that New Source Corporation had a quality rating of 99%. Its excellent quality rating stems from its Quality Policy, which focuses on:

  1. Putting its customer first.
  2. Supplying a quality product.
  3. Continual improvement.

Although most companies aim for a 100% quality rating, New Source Corporation scores itself just below for a reason. “We don’t have a 100% internal rating on purpose because there is always room and need for improvement. It’s the best way to serve our customers rather than become complacent,” said Stephanie Barron, New Source Corporation’s Marketing Director and Sales Representative.

Building on Success

New Source Corporation has served the aerospace industry as a supplier of aluminum extrusions since 1992. We also supply aluminum drawn and seamless tubing and other product forms including high-performance alloys.

The company’s success as a quality-first supplier of DFARS-compliant aerospace materials for Government Defense Contracts has helped it expand into the commercial sector. For example, New Source Corporation serves both commercial and Defense customers from its bi-coastal warehouses in California and Florida, ensuring maximum efficiency in serving customers globally.

“Our focus on our customers allows us to serve them better regardless of whether they do commercial or Defense work. In fact, some of our customers do both,” Barron explained. “We care about all our customers and follow the same quality and safety procedures across both sectors.”

As the incumbent Aerospace Aluminum Extrusion Supplier for Lockheed Martin’s C-130 Hercules and F-16 Fighting Falcon programs, New Source Corporation stocks a wide array of parts used for these aircraft. Many of these extruded shapes can also be used in commercial aircraft. For example, KF Aerospace, a customer based in Canada, uses C-130 parts to overhaul Lockheed Martin’s LM-100J commercial freighter. Rather than waiting 35 weeks for a new mill run, customers like KF can benefit from available stock.

Outshining the Competition

Two of New Source Corporation’s larger commercial customers are based in Canada as well. Viking Air Ltd., part of De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Limited (De Havilland Canada), has contracted with New Source Corporation for aluminum extrusions, custom-shape tubing, and other supplies for the DHC-515 firefighter and DHC-6 Twin Otter programs.

Like many other customers, New Source Corporation has worked closely with Viking to align the projected production rates for their DHC-515 and DHC-6 programs so that it could support them better. By building relationships with customers and understanding their needs, New Source Corporation helps customers overcome aerospace supply chain challenges to get the right parts at the right time to keep production on schedule.

Viking forecasts producing 60 of the DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft, a twin-engine turbine-powered aircraft that can carry passengers and cargo into remote, unimproved locations and operate in the harshest environments, over the next five years.

Meanwhile, the DHC-15 Firefighter will build on the legacy of the iconic Canadair CL-215 and CL-415 aircraft, which have been in European and North American aerial firefighting fleets for over 50 years. Upgrades will enhance the functionality and effectiveness of this rugged firefighting aircraft.

Viking chose New Source Corporation because of its industry knowledge and a referral from another Canadian customer, the Coulson Group of Companies, third-generation family businesses focused on aerial firefighting.

New Source Corporation continues to grow its commercial business by investing in its personnel and training to provide high-quality products and excellent service. Both commercial and defense programs continue to ramp up as a result of the company’s investment in its personnel and customers.

Working as a cohesive, customer-focused team, New Source Corporation grows with its customers, helping them reach new heights—literally and figuratively.

Contact us today to learn how we can help you with aerospace aluminum extrusions or other materials for your commercial program.

August 7, 2024

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