MONMOUTH (AP) – A Maine-based company has signed a contract to supply fire-barrier cloth to Airbus, an aircraft manufacturing company in France.

Tex Tech Industries announced it will provide Airbus with enough of its fiber product to line the cabins of the 3,980 aircraft that Airbus now has, as well as future planes. Airbus plans to build 30 new aircraft this year.

The product resists temperatures up to 2,000 degrees. Airbus was looking for a high-temperature safety material to protect passengers in case of fire.

Tex Tech officials announced the deal Thursday at its plant in Monmouth. They said it is a “significant contract” but declined to provide specifics.

“It’s a day of celebration for us,” said Chief Operating Officer John Stankiewicz.

Tex Tech was first approached by Airbus at the 1998 Aircraft Interior Show in Cannes, France, when Airbus was looking for a high-temperature material to protect passengers from burning jet fuel.

Soon after, Tex Tech developers created a paper-based, patented material that fit the bill.

Francois Gauthier, the Consulate General of France in Boston, was on hand at the contract announcement.

“The business venture established between Tex Tech and Airbus is another example of the successful business relationship between Maine and Europe,” he said. “It also symbolizes how technology-driven businesses do not have borders within our global economy.”

Tex Tech has its headquarters in Portland, with manufacturing plants in Monmouth, Thailand and China. The Monmouth facility has about 200 employees.

The company specializes in manufacturing tennis ball felt, ballistics safety materials and specialty fibers and fabrics used in aerospace, safety and recreation products.

Air Bus is one of the world’s leading aircraft manufacturers.

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