About Us

Hytek provides all the services that ensure parts are ready for further assembly and installation in the aircraft, as well as providing long-term corrosion and wear protection to ensure that these aircraft will operate safely now and in the future.

The majority of parts Hytek processes are high heat treat, structural components of assemblies. Landing gear components, wing structures and moving elements that require not only corrosion protection but special coatings related to their movement and interaction with other parts.

Hytek’s processes include Non Destructive Testing of all substrates; Chrome, Grinding, Cadmium, Titanium Cadmium, Nickel and Zinc Nickel Plating; Shot Peening; Boric, Chromic, Sulfuric and Hardcoat Anodize; All types of Organic coatings/paints including primers, sol gel, dri lubes, aluminized coatings and topcoats.

Hytek is a ‘One Stop Shop’ for aerospace finishing. The breadth of finishes available in this building allow customers to minimize lead times and extra PO’s. This has driven our growth with customers outside the Pacific Northwest.

We hold hundreds of specification approvals from all major OEMs. We work for over 500 machine shops across North America. We are a Tier 1 Boeing supplier for some parts and their largest direct offload supplier.

History

Founded in 1957, Hytek Finishes began as Heath Plating in Kent, Washington to support the metal finishing requirements of the Heath Tecna Plastics Company, in addition to numerous aerospace suppliers in the Seattle area.

In 1982, Heath Tecna became a part of Criton Technologies, a Bellevue, Washington based company specializing in aerospace, defense and commercial products and services. At this time, Heath Plating became known as today’s Hytek Finishes.

Hytek’s growth and Criton’s merge with Esterline Technologies in 1987 enabled us to design, build and move into our current 100,000 square foot facility in 1989. This facility was built to our specifications, creating a flexible highly environmentally compliant finishing facility. Hytek’s approval base expanded rapidly beyond Boeing into OEM support for Airbus, BAE, Lockheed, Bell Helicopters, Goodrich Corporation, Gulfstream, Vought and many others.

In 2019 Esterline merged with The TransDigm Group and Hytek became a unit of TransDigm.

Hytek is AS9100 Rev D Registered and is Nadcap accredited for NDT, Chemical Processing and Shot Peen.

Facility

– Business founded in 1957 as Heath Plating, a part of Heath Tecna Aerospace
– Became Hytek Finishes in 1980s as part of Criton Technologies (future Esterline management team)
– Built current (100K sq. ft.) facility in 1989
– Became a unit of The TransDigm Group in 2019
– 150 employees – average tenure 13 years
– 3 shifts + weekends
– FAA Repair Station and EASA Approved

Our facility in Kent, WA is minutes away from Sea-Tac Airport and Boeings Renton Assembly Plant, home to the 737 and P8.

This ‘built for finishing facility’ continues to serve our customers and their changing needs very well. Our environmental regulation compliance is enhanced by the buildings design. All plumbing is above ground, allowing Hytek to adapt tank lines to emerging needs of customers.

Core Lean Values

As a continually improving company, we understand that being good is not good enough for our customers or employees. The path to becoming a great company lies within ones philosophies, and that path is put together by many small steps. The first of these steps begins with our Core Lean Values.