HAMBLE, UK – GE Aviation hosted Local Growth Minister Baroness Kramer, today at its Hamble-Le-Rice facility in honour of the announcement of Round 5 of the Government’s Regional Growth Fund (RGF).
Last year, GE Aviation was awarded £2m in Round 4 of the RGF to help support the development of an advanced manufacturing and material handling systems for the composite aerostructure manufacturing facility and to sustain about 170 jobs at the site.
“Today’s visit allowed GE Aviation Hamble to showcase our work for Baroness Kramer and formally thank the Government for the RGF award,” said Simon Randell, product leader for GE Aviation Hamble. “The RGF award enables us to enhance our manufacturing capabilities and become more competitive in the aviation sector.”
During the visit, Baroness Kramer toured the construction site for a new 9,000 sq. meter composite facility, which is part of a £30m (GBP) investment by GE in the Hamble location. The new facility will utilize this new handling system and expand the site’s production capabilities of the composite wing structures for the Airbus A350 XWB aircraft. Among the features of the BREEAM Excellence building development are a 1,400 sq. meter clean room and two 80-tonne autoclave ovens. The new facility is scheduled to open in mid-2015.
GE Aviation’s Hamble facility employs more than 800 staff, specializing in the design and manufacture of aerostructure components for the Airbus A380, A400M, A320 and A350 XWB aircraft and complex assemblies for military and civil customers, including Boeing, Bombardier and BAE Systems.
For the A350 XWB, the site manufactures more than 3,000 deliverable parts for the wing fixed trailing edge package. This is the largest production contract awarded to the site in its more than 75 year history and demonstrates its capability to design and manufacture advanced composite panels and complex machined assemblies for the aviation industry.
GE Aviation significantly increased the scope of its technical capabilities to support the A350 XWB contract by developing new tool sets, materials and technologies. Additionally, it brought together a global design team that includes GE Aviation Engineering resources in Poland and India, while applying concurrent engineering with global suppliers to obtain material and long-lead items in unprecedented timescales.
GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE (NYSE: GE), is a world-leading provider of jet, turboprop and turboshaft engines, components and integrated systems for commercial, military, business aviation aircraft. GE Aviation has a global service network to support these offerings.