Duke Of Cambridge visits Rolls-Royce in Derby
The Duke of Cambridge visited Rolls-Royce in Derby yesterday afternoon to meet apprentices, engineers and employees who are playing a key role in doubling Rolls-Royce's production of large aero engines.
The visit began with a tour of the Derby assembly line, where Rolls-Royce builds its Trent family of engines including the Trent XWB, the world's most efficient and fastest-selling large civil aero engine.
The Duke met with employees to learn about their experiences of working at Rolls-Royce, which accounts for 2% of UK goods exports.
Colin Smith, Rolls-Royce, Group President, said: “We were delighted to welcome The Duke of Cambridge and introduce him to our highly skilled workforce who assemble Rolls-Royce Trent aero engines, including the Trent XWB. It was also a pleasure introducing the Duke to our latest intake of apprentices demonstrating the investment we make in young people who are beginning an exciting career in engineering.”
Performance Technologist and recent ‘Great British Bake-Off’ finalist Andrew Smyth presented the Duke with a chocolate madeira cake filled with vanilla buttercream and morello cherry jam and a gingerbread fan on top. Andrew discussed his love of engineering and baking and how he combines the two.
“It was a great honour to bake a cake for The Duke of Cambridge,” Andrew said. “The pressure was definitely on, but it was a great opportunity to combine my love for engineering and baking. I designed the cake to look like a Rolls-Royce jet engine during vertical build with a rotating fan on top and everyone seemed to enjoy it.”
Currently an aircraft powered by an engine from the Rolls-Royce Trent family takes off or lands somewhere in the world every 16 seconds. Rolls-Royce is doubling its production of engines for large passenger aircraft to over 600 a year and over the coming years our share of the global market for large passenger aircraft will increase to more than 50% for the first time.
The Duke also met and spoke with apprentices about their training at the Rolls-Royce Apprentice Academy. Rolls-Royce currently has over 600 apprentices in the UK. This state of the art facility spans three floors and includes a 1,200 square metre workshop area featuring the latest machines, which enable apprentices to be trained on the same equipment they will be using in the workplace.
Megan Dennison, 21, represented the apprentices and presented the Duke with a Rolls-Royce Gnome engine turbine blade.
Megan said: “I was lucky enough to get on the Higher Engineering Apprenticeship following work experience at Rolls-Royce. I now work mainly in the engine project world, ensuring the correct testing is carried out on the engine, while studying for my degree at the University of Derby. During my apprenticeship I have had some fantastic opportunities and I was extremely proud to meet the Duke of Cambridge and tell him about my career so far.”
The Duke of Cambridge visited Rolls-Royce as part of his first official visit to Derby.