The federal government is providing a cash-strapped Australian company with a $10 million export guarantee to allow it to manufacture parts for the Lockheed-Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF).
The guarantee has enabled West Australian company Quickstep Technologies to negotiate a loan facility with the ANZ Bank to buy equipment and intellectual property to manufacture composite parts required to fulfil project supply contracts for the JSF program.
That follows the collapse of Victorian engineering group Production Parts, which won a $40 million deal to produce JSF components but went into administration in late July.
The company's demise was blamed on the high Australian dollar and extended delays in the JSF program.
Under the Quickstep deal, the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (EFIC) will provide an Export Finance Guarantee under its National Interest Account.
The ANZ loan is secured by a charge over the assets of Quickstep Technologies, the subsidiary undertaking the JSF work.
The company produces aircraft components made of advanced composite materials. It's making JSF doors and panels, with the first production parts scheduled for delivery early next year.
Quickstep is now relocating its manufacturing operations from WA to the former Boeing facility at Bankstown in south-west Sydney.
Managing director Philippe Odouard said the strong support provided by EFIC and ANZ reflected the significance of the emerging composites manufacturing industry and the importance of the JSF program.
"The ANZ facility enabled by EFIC comes at an exciting time for Quickstep, with the company on track to deliver on the first purchase order for F-35 Group 1 parts and the redevelopment of our new Bankstown facility in NSW well underway," Mr Odouard said in a statement.
"The federal government's support assists Quickstep to supply some of the most advanced composite components in the world to one of the most advanced aircraft in the world."
Mr Odouard said this loan provided Quickstep with the required financial strength to contribute to the JSF global supply chain as a competitive supplier.
It would assist in establishing the long-term viability of an Australian high-technology composites industry, he said.
"This supports and reinforces our strategy of funding the establishment of our new manufacturing facility at Bankstown using a combination of equity, loans and grants," Mr Odouard said.
"Throughout the past 12 months, we have continued to make excellent progress, and I am pleased to say we have so far met all of our milestones on or ahead of schedule."
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