Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies Corp. company, is making significant investments in its global facilities as the company prepares for an increase in commercial and military engine production levels.
“This is a very exciting time for Pratt & Whitney,” said Danny Di Perna, senior vice president of Engineering & Operations. “Over the next few years we will significantly increase our engine production. While these investments will transform our global operations, more importantly, they will ensure we are prepared to deliver this increase in volume to our customers with the world-class quality they have come to expect.”
These investments are part of a five-year capital expenditure plan from 2013-2017 focusing on technology improvements and facility expansions. The investments include:
- a more than $400-million investment to expand the company’s East Hartford and Middletown, Conn., facilities;
- a $63-million project to expand the company’s West Palm Beach, Fla., facility, which is slated for a June grand opening;
- a $140-million expansion at the company’s Advanced Coating Technology facility in Wallkill, N.Y.; and
- a $110-million investment in Singapore to build a new 180,000-sq.-ft. (16,700-sq.-m.) manufacturing facility, slated to open later this year, and new repair and engineering facility that opened in December 2013.
“Pratt & Whitney’s manufacturing strategy is based on balancing capability, capacity, flexibility and affordability to offer our customers as much value as possible,” Di Perna said. “Our next generation engine programs give Pratt & Whitney the opportunity to increase assembly and machining capacity globally, invest in smart technologies, introduce new capabilities and improve efficiency in our factories to be leaner.”
Florida Facility Delivers First F135 Engine
On May 20th, the company announced that the first F135 engine had been delivered to the F-35 Final Assembly Check Out (FACO) facility in Cameri, Novara, Italy. This engine — the 137th delivered to date — is also the first F135 engine produced in Pratt & Whitney’s West Palm Beach Engine Center; the company’s brand new, state-of-the-art 97,000-sq.-ft. (9,000-sq.-m.) production facility.
“We are very proud of the team here and the dedicated effort to build the first production F135 engine,” said Eric Ross, general manager of the West Palm Beach Engine Center. “We broke ground on this facility in April of 2013, and began production of our first F135 in December. We not only started on time, but we also successfully met our target delivery date on the first engine to the Italian FACO.”
Engines produced in the new West Palm Beach facility are built to the same exacting build standards as engines in the Middletown, Conn., production facility. Pratt & Whitney has been doing test and validation work on F135 development engines in West Palm Beach as part of the System Development and Demonstration (SDD) program for more than 14 years. This new assembly capability, in addition to the existing comprehensive test capability at the West Palm Beach site, provides added capacity as the F135 program ramps up production.
“Italy has been a vital partner on the F-35 program from the start of the program. This is the beginning of a new chapter in the F-35 program as we begin to deliver engines outside of the U.S.,” said Cheryl Lobo, director, F135 Programs. “The Italian industrial base is ramping up their product and will continue to support production and sustainment for decades to come.”
Italy is currently planning on buying a combination of F-35A conventional takeoff and landing variants and F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing jets. With this mix of aircraft, Italian forces will be able to land virtually anywhere, including bases, damaged airstrips, remote locations and air-capable ships.
Also in the Mediterranean, multiple press reports on May 22 said Pratt & Whitney had signed a letter of intent with the Turkish government to establish an F135 engine assembly and MRO center in that country, where the company established a component plant with Turkey’s Kale Group three years ago.