After an investment of 2 EUR M, bets on new processes for the aeronautical sector

Noting the maturity of some usual sectors in its portfolio of clients, such as the automotive, TTT group has decided to refer to others as the air. With an investment of about 2 million euros in the last two years, at the end of 2005 had increased by 100 per cent from sales of the aeronautical sector.

The TTT group is formed by five companies, all of which are located in the Basque country: treatments thermal TTT TTT Goiko, Ikan-Kronitek, Iontech surface treatments and TTT axes.
With a total of 260 people, achieve a turnover of EUR 30 million. The companies are dedicated to work of heat treatment, surface treatment and surface coatings. Among all of them do work of contracts, carburizing, carbonitriding and temple, treatments in high vacuum nitriding Tenifer nitriding Nitreg, treatment by induction, hard chrome, chromium mate, grinding and lapping, projection, plasma, HVOF and HFPD, as well as oxyacetylene projection and by electric arc.

In addition to all these technologies of surfaces, the Group manufactures products of its own, more in particular coppice for shock absorbers in cars and tools of wear for aluminium injection machines such as shirts, piston or containers. "All of them — explains José María Eguskiza, commercial Director of the Grupo— products that are designed to incorporate processes that we master within the group." "Not in vain we presented as a group that integrates technologies of surfaces".

TTT Group acts in mature sectors known to fund because it has been working for them since its foundation in 1960. Now, nearly already his 50 birthday and due to the slowdown in the sector of automotive and others, TTT is betting decisively by the aviation industry.
"In Spain and especially in the Basque country, Catalonia, Seville and Madrid, the aeronautical sector is in full effervescence" says José Maria Eguskiza. The new models of Airbus and other possible contributions of Spanish companies with McDonnell Douglas and Rolls Royce do provide for a special growth. "If it continues in this pattern and programmes remain as they are planned we have work for twenty years." Importantly, the number of aircraft that are scheduled and Spain is knowing a place among the European countries. Thus, Spanish companies involved about 5 per cent in the latest model of Airbus. "But what is clear is that Spanish companies have to give the stature and know give confidence to the manufacturers that we can meet in the fundamentals".

In the past two years TTT group has made some investments that will already reach the 2 million euros. "The idea is to offer to the aviation sector more processes that we have." These new services that we offer are linked to processes of heat treatments of special steels, surface coatings through projection and through the intermediary of finished and hard chrome surface of grinding and polishing of parts. These are processes that we have been doing already, but we are going to complete with complementary special processes, such as: "shot peening" inspection of cracks, magnetic particles, penetrating liquids and others that we incorporated in the short term. The objective is to offer a few pieces as complete as possible at the aeronautics sector. "We want to expand the possibilities of treatment to, ultimately, reduce costs and minimize logistical complexity."
Steel and titanium are the two materials in which TTT group is focused and which will continue to.

Since then, TTT not everything is mere intentions. The figures are very significant. From 2003 to 2004, the turnover of the Group of processes aimed at the Aeronautics doubled and at end of this year will also double as of last year.

Currently the Group's companies provide services and supplying products to the industry of automotive, aeronautical, machine tool, etc., with a wide range of works, from the treatment and conventional coating, up to the most advanced technology in engineering of surfaces.
He leads the national market of outsourcing of heat and surface treatments and is in phase of internationalization of their products and services of high added value. It participates in innovation and development projects sponsored by various public bodies, in collaboration with companies and research centres in different European countries; the activity of innovation is a constant in the development of the group, and the technological base for the creation of new business units. It based its future on strategies of communication and development of its human resources as factors of quality, in collaboration with earlier and later stages of the value chain, in the harmonic integration with its industrial, environmental and social environment, and in its vocation for innovation and upgrade of its technological position.

Heat treatment TTT has obtained recently the NADCAP accreditation for heat treatment of carbon steels, alloyed, stainless and superallos. It is the first such company that gets it in the Spanish State.
Treatment surface Iontech, S.A., whose business within the TTT group is focused on coatings by heat projection and finishes (grinding and/or polishing) also with the NADCAP accreditation (AS7109 for Coatings) enabling him to carry out its activity within the aerospace coatings.

It's the first Spanish company of outsourcing to achieve this accreditation, mandatory requirement for "Special processes in the Aerospace Sector" companies.