CARY – Privately held Lord Corp is celebrating what is being called the “largest” deal in the company’s history: A contract to build a cockpit control module for Boeing’s big-selling 737 Max jetliner.

Financial terms weren’t disclosed, but Lord officials told aviation news website Flight Global that the deal is huge.

“If you look at the volumes that Boeing will be producing and the fact that the program is so solid for years to come, it is a great opportunity for us,” says Frederic Ponchon, commercial director of Lord in France. The project “came as a surprise.”

In its own press release, Lord called the contract the “biggest” in the firm’s history dating back 94 years.

“We are pleased to embark on this monumental journey with Boeing,” Ed Auslander, Lord’s CEO, said in a statement. “The success of Boeing’s 737 Max, coupled with Lord’s proven history in providing solutions for mission-critical applications, represents tremendous opportunities for the future of flight.”

The deal was disclosed at Lord’s facility in France, which is where the company rebranded 2016 acquisition Fly-by-Wire as Lord Electromechanical Solutions. The assembly will be built in France and at a Lord facility in Pennsylvania. Shipments are expected to begin in 2020.

Lord already manufactures a similar control system for other jets.

Flight Global notes that the Lord group in France already has a “record in designing cockpit controls, sensors, dampers and actuators for airliners and business aircraft including the Airbus A320, Bombardier CSeries and Embraer Legacy 450/500. That experiecence “was a ‘crucial factor’ in Boeing’s decision,” Ponchon told the news site.

Lord also works with Boeing on other aircraft, and that “long relationship helped us open the door,” Ponchon added.

Some 10,000 737 aircraft have been built since in 1967.

Lord defines itself as a ” diversified technology and manufacturing company developing highly reliable adhesives, coatings, motion management devices, and sensing technologies that significantly reduce risk and improve product performance. For more than 90 years, LORD has worked in collaboration with our customers to provide innovative oil and gas, aerospace, defense, automotive and industrial solutions.”

The company has more than 3,000 employees spread across 26 countries with 19 manufacturing centers and 10 research and development operations.