AeroLite Composites Ltd

What we do

AeroLite manufactures thermoplastic composite structures for aerospace primes and tier one suppliers. Our process uses automated fibre placement with in-situ consolidation, which forms and consolidates the laminate in a single operation and removes the autoclave cycle entirely. That matters for two reasons: autoclave capacity is a hard constraint on production rate across the industry, and the energy cost of a cure cycle is a growing share of the embodied carbon a customer must now account for.

Market and customers

Our components go into secondary structures — access panels, fairings, ducting and brackets — where qualification burden is lower than for primary structure and where the weight saving still translates directly into fuel burn. We supply two European tier one suppliers under long-term agreements and are in qualification with a third. The addressable market grows as single-aisle production rates recover and as thermoplastics displace thermoset composites in new programmes, where recyclability at end of life is now a specification requirement rather than an aspiration.

Traction

The company operates a 1,400 m² facility near Glasgow with two fibre placement cells and holds AS9100 certification. Revenue for the last financial year was £2.8M with a gross margin of 34%, and the current order book covers 70% of forecast capacity for the next eighteen months. Scrap rates have fallen from 11% to under 4% over two years as process control has matured, which is the main driver of margin improvement.

Team and investors

The founding technical director led the composites group at the University of Glasgow; the management team includes a manufacturing director from a major aerostructures business and a commercial lead with prime contractor relationships. The company employs 38 people. Backers include a regional growth fund and a strategic investment from a materials supplier.

Current raise

We are raising £3M to install a third placement cell, extend the qualified material set to two additional resin systems, and fund the working capital that a longer aerospace payment cycle requires as volumes scale.