Rolls-Royce has announced a £150m (US$194m) investment in new and existing civil aerospace facilities in the UK to support the planned doubling of engine production and delivery on its record civil aerospace order book.
The investment, which was announced on June 29 and will be made over the next few years, is part of Rolls-Royce’s ongoing industrial transformation and will provide additional capacity as it develops and tests the next generation of aero engines.
The majority of the investment, which is in line with the Group’s ongoing planned expenditure, will provide a new facility for the testing of large civil aero engines in Derby in the UK, the home of Rolls-Royce’s civil aerospace division.
The new testbed will be capable of testing a range of engines including the Trent XWB, which powers the Airbus A350 XWB and is the world’s fastest selling civil large engine, with over 1,600 on order from 45 customers in 31 countries.
There will also be investment in Rolls-Royce’s large engine Maintenance Repair & Overhaul (MRO) facility in Derby, as well as in its manufacturing facilities in Derby and in Hucknall in the neighboring county of Nottinghamshire.
The company said in a statement, “We have also committed to retaining the Precision Machining Facility (PMF) in Derby, which we previously announced would be closed.”
July 5, 2017