SIC 3728 Aircraft Parts and Auxiliary Equipment, Not Elsewhere Classified
SIC 3728
This category includes establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing aircraft parts and auxiliary equipment, not elsewhere classified. This industry also includes establishments owned by manufacturers of aircraft parts and auxiliary equipment and primarily engaged in research and development on aircraft parts, whether from enterprise funds or on a contract or fee basis. Establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing or assembling complete aircraft are classified in SIC 3721: Aircraft; those manufacturing aircraft engines and parts are classified in SIC 3724: Aircraft Engines and Engine Parts; those manufacturing aeronautical instruments are classified in SIC 3812: Search, Detection, Navigation, Guidance, Aeronautical, and Nautical Systems and Instruments; those manufacturing aircraft engine electrical equipment are classified in SIC 3694: Electrical Equipment for Internal Combustion Engines; and those manufacturing guided missile and space vehicle parts and auxiliary equipment are classified in SIC 3769: Guided Missile and Space Vehicle Parts and Auxiliary Equipment, Not Elsewhere Classified. Establishments not owned by manufacturers of aircraft parts but primarily engaged in research and development on aircraft parts on a contract or fee basis are classified in SIC 8731: Commercial and Biological Research.
332912
Fluid Power Valve and Hose Fitting Manufacturing
336413
Other Aircraft Part and Auxiliary Equipment Manufacturing
In 2001, the miscellaneous aircraft parts and auxiliary equipment manufacturing industry employed 123,000 workers, earning an annual payroll of $6.4 billion. Of these, 71,600 worked in production, earning $3.3 billion. The industry reported $23.4 billion in total shipment values.
The American aircraft industry can be divided into four segments. In one segment, manufacturers such as Boeing and Lockheed Martin Corp. build the wings and fuselages that comprise the airframe. Meanwhile, companies such as General Electric and Pratt & Whitney manufacture the engines that propel aircraft. The third segment covers flight instrumentation, an area where the most profound advances in aviation have taken place. But the fourth segment, broadly defined by the industrial classification "aircraft parts not otherwise classified," includes manufacturers of surface control and cabin pressurization systems, landing gear, lighting, galley equipment, and general use products such as nuts and bolts.
Aircraft manufacturers rely on a broad base of suppliers to provide the thousands of subsystems and parts that make up their products. There are more than 4,000 suppliers contributing parts to the aerospace industry, including rubber companies, refrigerator makers, appliance manufacturers, and general electronics enterprises. This diversity is necessary because in most cases it is simply uneconomical for an aircraft manufacturer to establish, for example, its own landing light operation. The internal demand for such a specialized product is insufficient to justify the creation of an independent manufacturing division.
Aircraft manufacturers have found it cheaper and more efficient to purchase secondary products from other manufacturers, who may sell similar products to other aircraft companies, as well as automotive manufacturers, railroad signal makers, locomotive and ship builders, and a variety of other customers. For example, an airplane builder such as Boeing, Grumman, or Beech is likely to purchase landing lights from a light bulb maker such as General Electric. Such subcontractors supply a surprisingly large portion of the entire aircraft. On the typical commercial aircraft, a lead manufacturer such as McDonnell Douglas may actually manufacture less than half of the aircraft, though it is responsible for the design and assembly of the final product.
When a major manufacturer discontinues an aircraft design, as Lockheed did with its L-1011 Tristar, a ripple effect is caused that affects every manufacturer that supplied parts for that aircraft. Therefore, parts suppliers strive to diversify their customer base to ensure that the decline of one manufacturer will be tempered by continued sales to others. Given the unstable nature of the industry, parts manufacturers also attempt to find customers outside of the aircraft business.
Aircraft parts manufacturing may be said to predate the invention of powered aircraft. The Wright Brothers' first airplane, little more than a propeller-driven kite, was equipped with cables, chains, and an engine that were built by others. In the purest sense, Orville and Wilbur Wright merely designed and assembled their aircraft from existing parts. The same was true of innovator Glenn Curtiss, a motorcycle repairman from upstate New York. While Curtiss had access to the lightweight engines required for flight, he began to experiment with flight controls and invented the aileron, a movable surface on the trailing edge of a wing that revolutionized handling characteristics. The Wrights had clearly invented the airplane, but Curtiss had...
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