Rolls-Royce to invest in new aerospace facility
The new Fleet Support plant is expected to be fully operational in 2018 and will sit alongside its UK discs manufacturing facility, which officially opened in June 2014.
The new investment is part of Rolls-Royce’s ongoing industrial transformation and marks the final stage of the modernisation programme for disc manufacturing in the North East of England. The construction of a new facility will allow Rolls-Royce to make use of our specialist workforce and agile manufacturing techniques. It will also complete the planned closure of the existing site in nearby Sunderland, which is over 60 years old.
The new 8,000m2 facility will have the capacity to manufacture well over 1,500 fan and turbine discs a year for use in a wide-range of existing engines, including Civil Aerospace applications (Trent 500, Trent 800 and the RB211 engines) and alongside the Defence Aerospace applications (EJ200 and Adour engines). Fan discs and turbine discs are at the heart of the engine, operating in extreme conditions.
Mike Mosley, Rolls-Royce, Chief Operating Officer – Supply Chain, said: “Rolls-Royce is focused on transforming our global industrial base to develop solutions that our customers can trust. Our further investment in Washington demonstrates our continued commitment to developing innovative technology and lean facilities, which will improve performance and drive profitability for our business.”
David Ayton, Rolls-Royce, Executive Vice President for the Rotatives Supply Chain Unit, added: “Our exceptional people engineer and make extraordinary components. This showcase facility gives us the opportunity to set new standards of excellence for quality, delivery and cost.”
The new Washington facility is part of Rolls-Royce’s ongoing investment in improving its UK infrastructure. Employees from the existing Sunderland facility will start to move into the new site from 2017 and the Sunderland site is scheduled for closure in 2019.