GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems Sued by Thermion Systems International for $75 Million, Suit Asserts GKN Wrongfully Eliminated Thermion from the Boeing 787 Wing Deicing System Contract.

LOS ANGELES -- Thermion Systems International (TSI) today filed a lawsuit against GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems, Inc. (Garden Grove, CA) and GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems (Luton, England) in the Los Angeles County Superior Court for breach of partnership and other claims arising from a contract awarded to the team by The Boeing Company for the supply of an electro thermal wing ice protection system (WIPS) for Boeing's newest and most advanced commercial airliner, the 787 Dreamliner. The suit alleges that TSI and the GKN PLC subsidiaries teamed to develop and provide the WIPS to Boeing, using TSI's unique heating element, Thermion([R]) and that upon award of the contract to the team, GKN undertook to exclude TSI from the team and instead is alleged to have substituted its own heating element technology. "Thermion and GKN worked together for some two years in the development of the WIPS for Boeing. Boeing's award of the contract to the team was a great achievement for Thermion Systems International, putting TSI in the forefront of wing de-icing technology in the 21st century," said John Rolls, Director, Thermion Systems International.

The Boeing 787 uses a pioneering electro thermal ice protection system that eliminates the need to use hot air from the jet engines to deice the wings in flight. This technology represents a paradigm shift for wing deicing which will reduce complexity and increase efficiency and is certain to be a design consideration for all future jet aircraft. Thermion([R]) heaters, with their robust damage and fatigue resistance, dimensional flexibility and uniform heating pattern are ideally suited for aircraft wing ice protection systems.

The suit, filed by the firm of Kozberg & Bodell LLP, Los Angeles, California, seeks compensatory damages in excess of $75 million as well as punitive damages and other relief. No date has been set for the trial of the matter.