Item 1. Business
Item 1. Business.
BUSINESS DESCRIPTION
Curtiss-Wright Corporation and its subsidiaries (we, the Corporation, or the Company) is a global, diversified manufacturing and service company that designs, manufactures, and overhauls precision components and provides highly engineered products and services to the defense, general industrial, power generation, and commercial aerospace markets. We were formed in 1929 by the merger of companies founded by the Wright brothers and Glenn Curtiss, who were aviation pioneers. We are incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware and headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina. Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and trades under the symbol CW.
We expect that the diversification and breadth of our portfolio should improve our competitive positions in our core markets, mitigate the impact of business cycle or economic volatility, and allow us to drive growth in new products and markets. We seek to leverage and build upon our critical mass to expand our global manufacturing capabilities, sales channels, and customer relationships. We strive for consistent sales growth, operating margin expansion, diluted earnings per share growth and free cash flow generation, while maintaining a disciplined capital deployment strategy in order to drive long-term shareholder value.
We are well positioned on high-performance platforms and critical applications that require our technical sophistication and benefit from decades of engineering expertise. Our technologies are relied upon to improve safety, operating efficiency, and reliability, while meeting performance requirements in the most demanding environments. Our ability to provide these advanced technologies on a cost-effective basis is fundamental to our strategy to drive increased value to our customers. We compete globally, primarily based on technology and pricing.
Business Segments
We manage and evaluate our operations based on the products and services we offer and the different markets we serve. Based on this approach, we operate through three segments: Commercial/Industrial, Defense, and Power.
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Our principal domestic manufacturing facilities are located in Arizona, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina, and internationally in Canada, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.
Commercial / Industrial
Sales in the Commercial/Industrial segment are primarily to the general industrial and commercial aerospace markets and, to a lesser extent, the defense and power generation markets. The businesses in this segment provide a diversified offering of highly engineered products and services including: (i.) industrial and specialty vehicle products, such as electronic throttle control devices, joysticks, and transmission shifters, (ii.) sensors, controls, and electro-mechanical actuation components used on commercial aircraft, (iii.) severe-service valves to the industrial market, and (iv.) surface technology services, such as shot peening, laser peening, and engineered coatings. Certain industrial businesses within our Commercial/Industrial segment are impacted primarily by general economic conditions, which may include consumer consumption or commercial construction rates, as the nature of their products and services primarily support global industrial, commercial vehicles, oil and gas, medical, and transportation industries. The commercial aerospace business is impacted by OEM production rates of new aircraft, while the defense business is impacted by government funding and spending on new programs, primarily driven by the U.S. Government. As commercial industrial businesses, production and service processes rest primarily within material modification, machining, assembly, and testing and inspection at commercial grade specifications. The businesses distribute products through commercial sales and marketing channels.
Defense
Sales in the Defense segment are primarily to the defense markets and, to a lesser extent, the commercial aerospace and power generation markets. The defense businesses in this segment provide a diversified offering of products including: Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) embedded computing board-level modules, data acquisition and flight test instrumentation equipment, integrated subsystems, valves, instrumentation and control systems, tactical communications solutions for battlefield network management, and electronic stabilization products. The defense businesses within our Defense segment are impacted primarily by government funding and spending, driven primarily by the U.S. Government. Our products typically support government entities in the aerospace defense, ground defense, and naval defense industries. As a result, we have varying degrees of content on fighter jets, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), ground vehicle platforms, and nuclear and non-nuclear surface ships and submarines. Additionally, we provide avionics and electronics, flight test equipment, and aircraft data management solutions to the commercial aerospace market, and severe-service valves to the power generation market. Our defense businesses supporting government contractors typically utilize more advanced and ruggedized production and service processes compared to our commercial businesses and have more stringent specifications and performance requirements. The businesses in this segment typically market and distribute products through regulated government contracting channels.
Power
Sales in the Power segment are primarily to the naval defense and commercial nuclear power generation markets. For the defense markets, we provide naval propulsion and auxiliary equipment, including main coolant pumps, power-dense compact motors, generators, steam turbines, valves, and secondary propulsion systems, primarily to the U.S. Navy. We also provide ship repair and maintenance for the U.S. Navy’s Atlantic and Pacific fleets through three service centers. The defense businesses in this segment are impacted by government funding and spending on shipbuilding programs, primarily driven by the U.S. Government. For the commercial markets, we provide a diversified offering of products for commercial nuclear power plants and nuclear equipment manufacturers, including hardware, pumps, fastening systems, specialized containment doors, airlock hatches, and spent fuel management products supporting the continued performance, safety and modernization of operating reactors. We also provide Reactor Coolant Pumps (RCPs) and control rod drive mechanisms for commercial nuclear power plants, most notably to support the Westinghouse AP1000 reactor design. The businesses are dependent upon the need for ongoing maintenance, repair and overhaul of existing operating power plants, principally to U.S. customers, as well as the construction of new power plants globally. The businesses in this segment typically market and distribute products through regulated or government contracting channels.
OTHER INFORMATION
Certain Financial Information
For information regarding sales by geographic region, see Note 18 to the Consolidated Financial Statements contained in Part II, Item 8, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
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In 2020, 2019, and 2018, our foreign operations as a percentage of pre-tax earnings were 28% , 31%, and 39%, respectively, with 2020 adjusted to reflect the add-back of a $33 million impairment loss associated with our industrial valves business in Germany.
Government Sales
Our sales to the U.S. Government and foreign government end use represented 53%, 43%, and 40% of total net sales during 2020, 2019, and 2018, respectively.
In accordance with normal U.S. Government business practices, contracts and orders are subject to partial or complete termination at any time at the option of the customer. In the event of a termination for convenience by the government, there generally are provisions for recovery of our allowable incurred costs and a proportionate share of the profit or fee on the work completed, consistent with regulations of the U.S. Government. Fixed-price redeterminable contracts usually provide that we absorb the majority of any cost overrun. In the event that there is a cost underrun, the customer recoups a portion of the underrun based upon a formula in which the customer’s portion increases as the underrun exceeds certain established levels.
Generally, long-term contracts with the U.S. Government require us to invest in and carry significant levels of inventory. However, where allowable, we utilize progress payments and other interim billing practices on nearly all of these contracts, thus reducing working capital requirements. It is our policy to seek customary progress payments on certain contracts. Where we obtain such payments under U.S. Government prime contracts or subcontracts, the U.S. Government generally has control of the materials and work in process allocable or chargeable to the respective contracts. (See Notes 1, 5, and 6 to the Consolidated Financial Statements, contained in Part II, Item 8, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K).
Customers
We have hundreds of customers in the various industries that we serve. No commercial customer accounted for more than 10% of our total net sales during 2020, 2019, or 2018.
Approximately 47% of our total net sales for 2020, 38% for 2019, and 34% for 2018 were derived from contracts with agencies of, and prime contractors to, the U.S. Government. Information on our sales to the U.S. Government, including both direct sales as a prime contractor and indirect sales as a subcontractor, is as follows:
Year Ended December 31,
(In thousands) 2020 2019 2018
Commercial/Industrial $ 164,583 $ 146,263 $ 123,938
Defense 576,948 439,754 408,880
Power 377,787 350,688 282,182
Total U.S. Government sales $ 1,119,318 $ 936,705 $ 815,000
Patents
We own and license a number of United States and foreign patents and patent applications, which have been obtained or filed over a period of years. We also license intellectual property to and from third parties. Specifically, the U.S. Government receives licenses to our patents that are developed in performance of government contracts, and it may use or authorize others to use the technology covered by such patents for government purposes. Additionally, trade secrets, unpatented research and development, and engineering, some of which have been acquired by the company through business acquisitions, make an important contribution to our business. While our intellectual property rights in the aggregate are important to the operation of our business, we do not consider the success of our business or business segments to be materially dependent upon the timing of expiration or protection of any one or group of patents, patent applications, or patent license agreements under which we now operate.
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Executive Officers
Name Current Position Business Experience Age Executive
Officer Since
David C. Adams Executive Chairman Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors since January 1, 2021. Prior to this, he served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation from January 1, 2015 until his resignation from that position on January 1, 2021. He served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation from August 2013. He also served as President and Chief Operating Officer of the Corporation from October 2012 and as Co-Chief Operating Officer of the Corporation from November 2008. He has been a Director of the Corporation since August 2013. 66 2005
Lynn M. Bamford President and Chief Executive Officer
President and Chief Executive Officer of the Corporation since January 1, 2021. Prior to this, she served as President of the Defense and Power segments of the Corporation from January 2020. She also served as Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Company’s Defense Solutions and Nuclear divisions from 2018, and Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Company’s Defense Solutions division from 2013. She has held various leadership positions in the Corporation since 2004. She has been a Director of the Corporation since January 1, 2021.
57 2021
Thomas P. Quinly Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Vice President of the Corporation since November 2010 and Chief Operating Officer of the Corporation since October 2013. Prior to this, he served as President of Curtiss-Wright Controls, Inc. from November 2008. Effective March 1, 2020, Mr. Quinly took a personal leave of absence, which is expected to last until his planned retirement on April 1, 2021.
62 2010
K. Christopher Farkas Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the Corporation since May 2020. Prior to this, he served as Vice President of Finance from December 2017 and served as Vice President and Corporate Controller of the Corporation from September 2014. He also served as Assistant Corporate Controller of the Corporation from May 2009. 52 2014
Paul J. Ferdenzi Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary
Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary of the Corporation since March 2014. Prior to this, he served as Vice President-Human Resources of the Corporation from November 2011 and also served as Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of the Corporation from June 1999 and May 2001, respectively. 53 2011
Gary A. Ogilby Vice President and Corporate Controller Vice President and Controller of the Corporation since May 2020. Prior to this, he served as Vice President of Finance and Administration of the Company’s Surface Technologies division from November 2016. He also served as Assistant Corporate Controller of the Corporation from 2014. 39 2020
Robert F. Freda Vice President and Treasurer Vice President and Treasurer of the Corporation since January 2021. Prior to this, he served as Assistant Corporate Controller of the Corporation from June 2017 and also served as Director of Finance from September 2006.
53 2021
Available information
We file annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and proxy statements for our annual stockholders’ meetings, as well as any amendments to those reports, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC maintains an Internet site at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC, including our filings. These reports are also available free of
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charge through the Investor Relations section of our website at www.curtisswright.com as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file.
Human Capital
At the end of 2020, we had approximately 8,200 employees in more than 20 countries, 7% of which are represented by labor unions and covered by collective bargaining agreements.
Set forth below are some of the key aspects of Curtiss-Wright’s human capital strategy:
Compensation Programs and Employee Benefits
Our success as an organization is ultimately dependent upon the success of our employees. As a result, we have made significant investments in order to attract, develop, and retain talented personnel, inclusive of competitive pay, share-based compensation, benefits, training, and professional development opportunities. Notable programs offered include the following:
• Employer 401(k) matching contributions;
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan;
• Employer-sponsored health insurance; and
• Training and professional development
In addition to the above, we also offer equity compensation plans to certain employees through the issuance of performance share units, restricted stock units, and cash-based performance units. Our equity compensation plans ultimately act as a key lever for rewarding and retaining key employees, while also aligning the interests of our key employees and external shareholders. See Note 16 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for more information regarding our share-based compensation plans.
Diversity and Inclusion
Curtiss-Wright believes in an inclusive workforce, where diverse backgrounds are represented, engaged, and empowered to inspire and innovate. We do business in more than 20 countries, and our employees operate across cultures, functions, language barriers, and time zones to solve the technical and logistical challenges presented by its worldwide customer base. To foster a more diverse and inclusive culture, Curtiss-Wright is focused on (1) promoting a culture of diversity and inclusion that leverages the talents of all employees, and (2) implementing practices that attract, recruit, and retain diverse top talent.
Health and Safety
The health and safety of our employees is a top priority for the Corporation. At the corporate level, we track total recordable rate (TRR) and days away, restriction and transfer rate (DART) for all sites worldwide. For the year ended December 31, 2020, our TRR and DART rates were 0.98 and 0.65, respectively.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we continue to execute safety measures at all of our facilities to protect the health and safety of our employees and visitors. We have implemented rigorous hygiene and social distancing practices, inclusive of mask requirements and staggered shifts. Additionally, a significant portion of our non-manufacturing employees are currently working remotely in an effort to minimize any potential spread of COVID-19. These working conditions have been designed to allow for the continuation of key business-critical operations and controls.
Ethics and Integrity
Curtiss-Wright is deeply committed to ensuring that all of its employees conduct business with the highest levels of ethics and integrity. In order to enhance understanding of and compliance with the Corporation’s code of conduct, all employees are required to complete a training program annually which details ethical business practices. In addition, the Corporation maintains an ethics-related hotline through which employees can report any accounting or auditing concerns. The hotline facilitates the communication of ethical concerns, and serves as the vehicle through which employees may communicate with the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors confidentially and anonymously.