What Ultracor does

Ultracor, Inc. is a Stockton, California-based manufacturer of composite honeycomb core materials serving aerospace and defense prime contractors. Founded in 1995 as a spinout of YLA, Inc., the company engineers honeycomb cores from carbon fiber, quartz, Kevlar, fiberglass, and a proprietary Ultraflex cell geometry, all fabricated via a patented single-cure process that eliminates secondary adhesives and produces uniform node bonds. The portfolio addresses applications where commodity honeycombs (Nomex, aluminum) cannot meet performance targets, including near-zero coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) for satellite antenna reflectors, low dielectric loss for radomes, and conformable cores for compound-curvature structures.

Ultracor operates as a custom B2B manufacturer, with pricing established through direct customer engagement rather than public tiers. Sales are handled by President Stan Wright and Operations Manager Sovanda Sing at the Stockton facility, supported by a channel representative (Nippon Graphite Fiber Corporation) in Japan. The company is AS9100:2016 certified (since 2011) and counts flight heritage on over 100 satellites among its customer outcomes. In March 2026, Ultracor was acquired by Applied Aerospace & Defense as a wholly-owned subsidiary, integrating its honeycomb supply chain into the parent's space and defense platform programs including tiltrotor aircraft, collaborative combat aircraft, and navigation satellites. The company employs between 11 and 50 people, reflecting its specialized, low-volume manufacturing profile.

Name

Ultracor

Legal name

Ultracor, Inc.

Website

https://ultracorinc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Ultracor, founded 1995, engineers custom composite honeycomb core materials (carbon, quartz, Kevlar, fiberglass, Ultraflex) via a patented single-cure process for aerospace and defense primes, supplying flight-qualified cores for satellites, radomes, and high-performance aircraft structures.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Composite Materials Manufacturing

akta.pro primary industry

Composite Structures & Layup Manufacturing (IMABAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Composite Reinforcement Textiles (Carbon/Glass/Aramid Fabrics & Preforms) (IMAOADAH), Aerospace & Defense Technical Textiles (Ballistic/Parachute/Radar-Absorbing/Composites Reinforcement) (IMAOADAF)

Keywords

• Composite honeycomb cores
• Aerospace core materials
• Carbon fiber honeycomb
• Prepreg honeycomb manufacturing
• Satellite antenna cores

Headquarters

HQ city

Stockton

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Composite Honeycomb Core Materials Sales: Ultracor generates revenue through the design and manufacture of custom composite honeycomb core materials for aerospace and defense applications. Products include Carbon Honeycomb, Quartz Honeycomb, Kevlar Honeycomb, Fiberglass Honeycomb, and Ultraflex Honeycomb sold to major aerospace and defense contractors. Revenue is derived from product sales with no indication of subscription or recurring components.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels1 record

Core offering

Ultracor engineers and manufactures custom composite honeycomb core materials from prepreg systems including carbon fiber, quartz, Kevlar, and fiberglass using a patented single-cure process. Its five product families (Carbon, Quartz, Kevlar, Fiberglass, and Ultraflex Honeycomb) are sold to aerospace and defense contractors for high-performance applications such as satellite antennas, radomes, spacecraft and aircraft structures where commodity honeycombs fail to meet requirements.

Product overview

Ultracor engineers and manufactures composite honeycomb core materials using a proprietary single-cure fabrication process that avoids secondary adhesives, resulting in superior quality node bonds and uniform structure. The product portfolio consists of five distinct honeycomb types—Carbon Honeycomb (for mechanical and thermal performance in satellites), Quartz Honeycomb (for low CTE and dielectric properties), Kevlar Honeycomb (for radomes and antennas), Fiberglass Honeycomb (cost-effective mechanical and dielectric performance), and Ultraflex Honeycomb (for curved composite structures)—all available in various cell sizes and densities. Major aerospace and defense contractors use Ultracor's materials for high-performance flight structures, with products flying on over 100 satellites.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Carbon Honeycomb Carbon fiber honeycomb (both pitch and PAN precursor based, using cyanate ester or epoxy resins) delivering near-zero coefficient of thermal expansion for satellite antennas and instrument benches and high mechanical strength for flight structures. Sold to aerospace and defense contractors requiring thermal dimensional stability.
• Quartz Honeycomb Quartz honeycomb core offering low coefficient of thermal expansion, distinguished dielectric constant and loss tangent factor among mineral fibers, suited to high-performance electromagnetic applications such as radomes and antennas.
• Kevlar Honeycomb Kevlar honeycomb made with low moisture (LMR) Kevlar 49 that reduces moisture absorption by 50%, providing exceptional toughness, low dielectric properties, and low CTE for radome and antenna applications.
• Fiberglass Honeycomb Fiberglass honeycomb offering excellent mechanical and dielectric performance relative to cost, distinguished by uniformity for structural and dielectric applications.
• Ultraflex Honeycomb Flexible honeycomb core with distinctive cell geometry engineered for forming into compound curvatures in composite structures, providing exceptional formability without anticlastic or buckling of cell walls and equivalent or higher mechanical properties than comparable hexagonal cores.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 100 satellites using Ultracor's carbon fiber honeycomb for thermal dimensional stability

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Nippon Graphite Fiber CorporationminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNippon Graphite Fiber Corporation serves as Ultracor's international representative in Japan. Located in Himeji, Japan, the company provides contact point for Japanese customers seeking Ultracor's composite honeycomb materials. Contact: Norikazu 'Nelson' Hara at 1, Fuji-cho Hirohata-ku, Himeji, 671-1123, Japan.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• The Gill Corporation: Manufactures composite honeycomb sandwich panels, fiberglass-reinforced panels, and laminates for aerospace, defense, and transportation — directly competing with Ultracor's honeycomb core product line in satellite, radome, and flight structure applications.
• Euro-Composites S.A. European manufacturer of aramid- and carbon-fiber honeycomb cores for aerospace, rail, and marine applications. Head-to-head competitor in aerospace-grade composite honeycomb, particularly for radome and flight structure use cases.
• Plascore Incorporated: Manufactures honeycomb cores from aramid, carbon, and aluminum, supplying aerospace, marine, and industrial composite structures. Closest direct competitor to Ultracor's prepreg-based carbon and aramid honeycomb offering for defense and space applications.
• DIAB Group: Global manufacturer of structural foam and honeycomb core materials for composite sandwich structures across wind, marine, aerospace, and transportation. Competes with Ultracor in honeycomb supply for high-performance aerospace sandwich panels.

Broad incumbents

• Toray Advanced Composites: Supplies prepreg, resin systems, and engineered composite materials used in aerospace, defense, and space. Overlaps with Ultracor on the upstream prepreg side and competes in selected high-end composite structures where its in-house core offerings qualify.
• Hexcel Corporation: Large publicly-traded composite materials supplier with broad portfolio of honeycomb, prepreg, adhesives, and carbon fiber reinforcements serving commercial aerospace, defense, and space. A scaled incumbent whose HexWeb honeycomb line overlaps with Ultracor's product range.

Regional players

• Showa Aircraft Industry Co., Ltd. Japanese manufacturer of composite honeycomb and panels primarily serving the Japanese aerospace and domestic defense market. Regional peer with comparable offering to Ultracor's Japanese footprint, complementing the Nippon Graphite Fiber distribution arrangement.

Emerging players

• ACP Composites: Custom composite materials manufacturer producing carbon, aramid, and glass fiber laminates and sandwich panels in low-to-mid volume. Adjacent competitor in niche composite core and panel fabrication, particularly for unmanned systems and small-space applications.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ultracor-inc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ultracor