Ladish Co. Inc.’s Polish subsidiary, ZKM Forging, has received a five-year contract to supply landing-gear components for global aerospace and defense supplier Goodrich Corp. The orders are the first of more than 20 landing-gear components destined for service on large commercial aircraft. The orders call for the forging and shipment of production quantities commencing in December 2008. The components will be produced at ZKM’s Stalowa Wola facility. According to Cudahy, Wis.-based Ladish, technical advances at ZKM – from material preparation and forging to inspection and value-added machining – have made it possible to ramp up orders for highly technical aerospace forgings.

The order also proves the company’s ability to work with customers in North America that have manufacturing operation in Poland’s Aviation Valley. In addition, on-site evaluations by a number of OEM and systems integrators have confirmed ZKM’s readiness to supply aerospace customers worldwide. ZKM was acquired by Ladish, a forger of jet engine, aerospace and industrial components, in 2005.