Re:Build and Nadcap

Author: Stan Revers, Director of Quality, Re:Build New Kensington

Nadcap was created in 1990 by aerospace Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to provide supply chain oversight and ensure regulatory compliance, first focused on U.S. defense supply chains. The Nadcap program has evolved since its birth to be a truly international accreditation program, evolving from the previous NADCAP (National Aerospace Defense Contractors Accreditation Program) to “Nadcap”. Nadcap is an Industry Managed Program focused on the accreditation of special processes. Its OEM members include 95% of so-called prime contractors or “primes” globally and it is understood as a prerequisite to most aerospace and/or defense manufacturing work.

In the beginning, the program only addressed “traditional” special processes like heat treatment, welding, and non-destructive testing, to name a few. Now, the program spans over 24 Task Groups comprising hundreds of specific technologies and processes within their scopes of accreditation. These include some very relevant to Re:Build Manufacturing such as composites, machining, painting, electronics, aerospace assembly, and materials testing, to name a few.

In October 2023, Re:Build Manufacturing attended its first Nadcap Meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This was a huge step in demonstrating our commitment to safety and quality in aerospace and defense manufacturing. In February 2024, representatives from Re:Build actively participated in various management working sessions and task groups at the Nadcap meeting in Athens, Greece.