Advanced Thermoplastic Composites Inc., a Spokane Valley aerospace manufacturer, says it expects to double its workforce and quadruple its production within the next two years, thanks to the long-awaited commercial launch of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner jumbo jet.

The company, which does business as ATC Manufacturing, makes reinforced, thermoplastic brackets used throughout Boeing's newest airliner. ATC Manufacturing currently has 15 employees, and owner Dan Jorgenson says, "We probably will add another 15."

ATC Manufacturing occupies 20,000 square feet of space in a building it bought four years ago at 10310 E. Buckeye Lane, Jorgenson says.

Chicago-based Boeing Co. made its first delivery last week of a 787 jetliner scheduled to be put into commercial service this month by All Nippon Airways Co., of Japan. Boeing also announced that it's ready to ramp up production to about four 787s a month within about six months.

Prior to the Dreamliner's certification in August by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the European Aviation Safety Agency, Boeing had been producing about two 787s a month in recent months.

"It's good to be at a point where they've delivered an airplane," Jorgenson says. "We should get into a more consistent production rate with fewer delays."

Jorgenson says Boeing plans to continue increasing production in the near future.

"By the end of 2013, Boeing expects to roll out 10 airplanes a month," he says.

In that time, he says he expects ATC Manufacturing will quadruple production and revenues. He declines to disclose current revenues.

"It's a big deal for us," says Jorgenson, noting that the Dreamliner's production is about three years behind schedule. "It's been a long time with a lot of people waiting for Boeing to get in full, consistent production."

Jorgenson says ATC Manufacturing hopes to broaden its product line to serve other aircraft producers, but Boeing is its only current customer.

"About 90 percent of our sales are directed at the 787 program," he says. "We live and die with that program."

During Boeing's recent pre-delivery production, ATC Manufacturing has been making parts for roughly two 787s a month, plus a handful of orders for the company's 737 and 757 models, he says.

ATC Manufacturing's products include clamping assemblies that hold hydraulic lines and electrical-system brackets that secure wire bundles throughout the airplane.

It also makes brackets that Triumph Composite Systems Inc., another Spokane-area aerospace manufacturer, installs under 787 floor panels.

"There's very little that we do that people actually see," Jorgenson says.

Employee numbers have fluctuated at ATC Manufacturing in recent years, Jorgenson says.

"Over the last three years, it's been between 10 and 15 people," he says. "We hired two people within the last year."

Prior to starting ATC Manufacturing in 2004, Jorgenson was an industrial engineer at Boeing's airliner-parts manufacturing plant on the West Plains, which now is owned and operated by Triumph Composite Systems. There, he gained expertise in working with high-performance thermoplastic composite materials.

"From that experience, I saw an opening to start a company," he says.