The Wichita-based ABI Group of Companies has committed to be a tenant in Wichita State University’s proposed Innovation Campus.
The ABI Group is currently headquartered in the Delano district, but is expanding its manufacturing and distributing operations across the city.
Researchers in the Advanced Coatings Lab at WSU’s National Institute for Aviation Research are currently working with the ABI Group to improve the effectiveness of a next-generation aerospace coating used in aerospace manufacturing processes associated with chemical milling.
NIAR researchers will assist in fine-tuning the product, which can be marketed to aerospace manufacturing and related industries. The university lab’s goal is to complete the design of the product and evaluate its effectiveness in meeting aerospace industry specifications and testing by August.
“This relationship fits our new technology transfer-focused business model,” said John Tomblin, NIAR executive director and WSU vice president for research and technology transfer. “We’ll continue to seek similar relationships as we engage industry participation in the Innovation Campus and focus on increasing our economic impact on the community.”
About NIAR
NIAR supports the aviation industry by providing research, development, testing, certification and training services. Its laboratories include Advanced Coatings, Aging Aircraft, CAD/CAM, Composites & Advanced Materials, Computational Mechanics, Crash Dynamics, Environmental Test, Full-Scale Structural Test, Mechanical Test, Metrology, Nondestructive Test, Research Machine Shop, Virtual Reality and the Walter H. Beech Wind Tunnel. NIAR operates on a nonprofit budget and is the largest university aviation R&D institution in the U.S., located in Wichita, Kan., the “Air Capital of the World.”
About the ABI Group
The ABI Group of Companies provides support to general aviation, commercial airline and military aircraft manufacturers and operators with aerospace services and onsite technical support. ABI also provides manufacturing and distribution services for next generation aerospace products.