Newington-based GKN Aerospace will go before the Town Plan and Zoning Commission this week to discuss a planned 35-foot argon storage tank at its 179 Louis St. manufacturing plant.
The project is part of the British company’s addition of a production line for a new engine component made with additive manufacturing technology.
GKN announced the expansion last fall, after receiving a $2.5 million grant from the state’s Strategic Supply Chain Initiative. The company supplies Pratt & Whitney’s geared turbofan engine.
The non-binding pre-application discussion, scheduled for the commission’s 7 p.m. meeting Wednesday, is a step toward a formal special permit application needed for the 11,000-gallon vertical tank, according to materials filed by the aerospace manufacturer.
The tank would provide the facility with a steady supply of argon — a nonflammable inert gas that doesn’t react with other elements — which is used to shield molten metal from oxygen and other contaminants during welding and additive manufacturing.
The proposed tank would stand at more than double Newington’s 15-foot height limit for accessory structures and sit within an existing paved parking area on the side of Building 179. The company says in its filing that the vertical height is dictated by functional and safety requirements rather than design preference.
