What Engine Programs Are Waiting On
In aerospace and defense, the engine is usually the part everyone is waiting on. Scroll to see what goes into it, and why the schedule is the hard part.
It starts with the engine
A modern turbine is a dense package of nickel superalloy and titanium, held together by thousands of fasteners, each one made to an aerospace specification. Build rates and overhaul schedules are running hard against the supply of exactly that material.
Broad and durable
Engine production is running at high rates, and the fleet in service is flying more hours, which pushes maintenance, repair, and overhaul volumes higher. Defense adds another layer. NATO members agreed to spend 5% of GDP on defense by 2035, and European allies raised budgets roughly 20% in 2025.
It shows up as lead time
Specialty alloy bar and forgings commonly carry quoted lead times of 20 to 52 weeks. The wire and small-diameter bar that fasteners are made from sit in the same squeeze. A late shipment of fastener stock can stall an engine build as surely as a missing disc forging.
Two businesses, one job
Brown Pacific in Santa Fe Springs has drawn stainless and nickel alloy wire and small-diameter bar for aerospace fasteners since 1968. Brown Europe in Brive, France runs wire and bar drawing for European programs to the same specifications. Because STS makes the material instead of reselling it, its lead times run near 10 weeks while much of the market quotes five months to a year.
Recognized by the people who buy it
Brown Europe earned the 2025 Collaborative Supplier Award from Rolls-Royce and Incora. STS extended its long-term supply agreement with Boeing in September 2025, covering titanium billet, bar, and plate. Every facility holds AS9100D certification and NADCAP accreditations. STS makes the material and delivers it on time.
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