Fatigue Technology, Inc., Selected As 1998 Boeing Small Business Supplier Of The Year
Fatigue Technology, Inc., (FTI) of Seattle, has been named The Boeing Company 1998 Small Business Supplier of the Year.
The award was presented to FTI executives by John Warner, senior vice president of The Boeing Company, and is given annually to a small business that is one of the company's top suppliers.
Fatigue Technology's roots date back to 1969, when it was incorporated under a different name as a small wire-bending business. In 1973, the company was purchased by native Seattleite Burke Gibson. In 1980, the company was renamed Fatigue Technology, Inc., specializing in products for the aerospace industry. Today, FTI employs 100 people and provides products for both the defense and space and the commercial business units of The Boeing Company.
The company's mission is to be "the center of excellence for cold expansion technology and exceed our customer's expectations for quality of products and services designed to enhance fatigue life and structural reliability of their products."
According to Boeing engineer Stella Madden, who nominated FTI for the award, the company "has met and exceeded its mission statement. This supplier does not consider itself just a tooling and components supplier, but rather a provider of solutions.
"This company works very hard to meet the needs of its customers. They do whatever it takes to meet customer requirements for quality, delivery, pricing and performance," Madden added.
According to Gibson, president and chief executive officer of FTI, cold expansion technology extends the life of fastener parts by three to 10 times the normal expectancy. Gibson says FTI has grown from a locally established company to an international supplier, providing its products and services not only to the aerospace industry, but also to other fields, including railroad, marine and medical uses.
Gibson adds that the company also is actively involved in community organizations, including United Way, the YMCA, Pacific Science Center, Juvenile Diabetes Association, Junior Achievement, Salvation Army and others. The company also funds continuing education for work-related courses for its employees. This has allowed several FTI employees to earn degrees and certifications.
For more than 45 years, Boeing has maintained programs designed to ensure that small businesses have an equitable opportunity to compete for contracts. Today Boeing leads the aerospace industry with our companywide efforts to provide opportunities for small businesses, including those owned by minorities and women. In 1997, Boeing conducted business with more than 42,000 suppliers worldwide. Of those, more than 33,000 were small businesses, including more than 2,800 women-owned small businesses, and more than 2,300 small disadvantaged businesses.
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