KILLDEER-A local manufacturing company has been recognized for its work in the aerospace industry.
The Boeing Co., the world's largest airplane maker, has honored Killdeer Mountain Manufacturing with its Supplier of the Year award. This is the third consecutive year the company has received the award.
Kristin Hedger, the company's vice president for business development, said the global supply chain that supports Boeing is expansive and is among the elite in manufacturing.
"To be recognized as sort of the best of the best in the category for Supplier of the Year, it speaks volumes about what our team at KMM does and what we can do in western North Dakota to support the supply chain," she said.
KMM is among Boeing's top tier of suppliers, making electronic subassemblies that are often described as the "nervous system" of aircraft. Last spring, KMM completed an expansion of its Dickinson facilities to build wire harnesses and fiber optic assemblies for Boeing's P-8A military surveillance plane.
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Hedger said the P-8A is a modified version of Boeing's 737 commercial airliner. KMM also supplies equipment for Boeing's 737 and 777 passenger planes.
The award recognizes the company's advocacy work. Hedger praised North Dakota's congressional delegation for its support of aerospace manufacturing.
"It is critical for companies to remain engaged in relations with our congressional delegation," she said. "In North Dakota we are fortunate that we have a very engaged public service presence."
Hedger said that it is also important for KMM to remain engaged with different sectors of government, like the military and the FAA in order to ensure they are supporting work done there. She noted that the U.S. aerospace and defense market is increasingly becoming more international; KMM regularly works with India, Australia, and other countries.
She added that this administration has a "robust appreciation for modernizing our current platforms, investing in new technology, and empowering our industry to support the needs of our allies."
Kristin Hedger and KMM senior vice president Dan Hedger were presented with Boeing's Supplier of the Year Excellence in Advocacy Award earlier this month during a Boeing global supplier conference in Portland, Ore.
"The practical benefit of this award is that it exemplifies, not just excellence to the Boeing Co., but throughout the aerospace industry," Dan Hedger said in a statement. "Other companies, such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Northrop Grumman, see that. It is a mark of excellence. It demonstrates the hard work and dedication that we in western North Dakota are able to bring to the table."
Jenette Ramos, Boeing senior vice president for supply chain and operations, said companies like KMM were "uniquely qualified" to speak about key business issues to community leaders, elected officials and other decision makers.
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"Together, we have the ability to shape aerospace policy, and positively impact the economy, employment and communities," Ramos said in a statement.
