Park Aerospace Corp. celebrates its 70th anniversary

NEWTON, Kan., April 1, 2024 (Globe Newswire) — Park Aerospace Corporation (NYSE-PKE) is celebrating its 70th anniversary. The park was founded 70 years ago on his March 31st, 1954 by Brian Shore’s father, Jerry Shore, and our very dear and special lifelong friend, Tony Chiesa.

“Our beloved founders, Jerry and Tony, grew up during the recession, and their upbringing may have shaped the park in its early years,” said Park Chairman and CEO Brian Shore. High and continues to be. As far as I can remember, we have never asked for or been given anything. We have always carved our own path. During the pandemic, we While most people I know received millions of dollars in PPP and other government funds, we received nothing. We are not passing judgment on others. . We are just stating the facts.”

Brian Shore continues, “In the early 1950s, Jerry and Tony met while working at a company called Etching Products in Queens, New York. When Etching Products went out of business, Jerry and Tony found themselves at a crossroads in their lives. They were forced to choose between an easier path and a more difficult path. Both are highly qualified and as a result have many attractive career paths. They could have easily chosen any of these career paths, but they chose the far more difficult and arduous path, risking it all and joining the military on March 31, 1954. They decided to start the park with $40,000 that they had saved from their paychecks. Jerry was 28 years old. Tony was 33.”

Park founders Jerry Shore (left) and Tony Chiesa (right)

Brian continues, “Our beginnings were certainly humble, but they were also lucky and magical. Our company was founded in 1954 in Woodside, Queens, in the shadow of the 59th Street Bridge. We started in a garage with five employees. In 1954, our sales were $124,206.58 and our pre-tax profits were $877.38 (as you can see, we always had a “purpose” to make money). Ta). That year, we paid $226.21 in taxes. In the early days, my mother, the daughter of a World War I hero who fought in the trenches, came to do bookkeeping in a closet at the back of the facility. She hand-wrote Mr. Park’s first bill. She was sent $300 to GE Schenectady. ”

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Brian further added, “Jerry and Tony’s objective in creating the park was to create something different and special… to achieve something great… to achieve greatness. is their legacy. Mediocrity had no interest in them.”

Brian concluded: “Jerry and Tony sacrificed so much for us, overcame so many obstacles for us, and persevered through many dark days when things seemed hopeless. , we will always remain deeply grateful for what Jerry and Tony have done for us and for giving us a legacy of unwavering and uncompromising dedication to greatness. We owe everything we have and everything we are to our beloved founders Jerry Shore and Tony Chiesa. Thank you, Jerry and Tony.”

Park Aerospace Corp. develops and manufactures solutions and hot melt advanced composite materials used in the manufacture of composite structures for the global aerospace market. Park’s advanced composite materials include film adhesives (Aeroadhere);^®) and lightning protection material (Electroglide)^®). Park offers a range of composite materials specifically designed for hand layup or automated fiber placement (AFP) manufacturing applications. Park’s advanced composite materials are used in the manufacture of primary and secondary structures for jet engines, large and regional transport aircraft, military aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, commonly referred to as “drones”), business jets, general aviation aircraft, and rotorcraft. It is used for. Park also offers specialty ablation materials for rocket motors and nozzles, as well as materials specifically designed for radome applications. Complementing Park’s advanced composite products, Park designs and manufactures composite parts, structures, assemblies, and low-volume tooling for the aerospace industry. Target markets for Park’s composite parts and structures (including Park’s proprietary composite SigmaStrut™ and AlphaStrut™ product lines) include, among others, prototype and development aircraft, special mission aircraft, conventional military and civilian aircraft spares; and rare spaceships. Mr. Park’s purpose is to do what others are unwilling or unable to do. If no one wants to do it because it’s too difficult, too small, or too annoying, sign up with us.

Additional company information is available on our website at www.parkaerospace.com.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/02e29ca3-1cbe-47ee-b1ec-d072a2f75fbb.