Parker Bertea to Unveil ‘Major Contract’ Today : Aerospace: Deal between Irvine components maker and Douglas Aircraft in Long Beach may signal new jobs locally.

Parker Bertea Aerospace, an aerospace-components manufacturer, expects to announce today a “major contract” from aircraft maker Douglas Aircraft Co. in Long Beach.

Officials at Parker Bertea and Douglas Aircraft, a subsidiary of St. Louis-based McDonnell Douglas Corp., declined to comment on the contract. Cheryl Morosco, spokeswoman for Parker Bertea, said the commercial manufacturing contract would mean an unspecified number of “jobs for California.”

The companies have scheduled a press conference today at Parker Bertea’s Control Systems Division in Irvine.

The conference will be attended by Parker Bertea. President Robert H. Rau and Richard Thomas, Douglas Aircraft vice president for special projects. About 1,000 Parker Bertea employees are also expected to attend.

Parker Bertea, a subsidiary of Cleveland-based Parker Hannifin Corp., employs about 3,000 people in Irvine. Roughly half of those work at the Control Systems Division.

The division makes engine control systems for commercial and military aircraft as well as hydraulic systems known as flight actuators that control the movement of aircraft parts, such as landing gear or flaps. Morosco said the company has had a long history of working with Douglas Aircraft on almost every commercial aircraft program.

Ten months ago, the division was reeling from a downturn in aerospace and defense business and laid off about 240 employees in Irvine and in Ogden, Utah.

Douglas Aircraft manufactures the C-17 military cargo aircraft and commercial aircraft in Long Beach.