SINGAPORE, Dec. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Pratt &
Whitney today announced its Singapore engine center celebrated more than
30 years of operations with the milestone delivery of its 7000th
overhauled engine. Pratt & Whitney is a division of United
Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX).
Since beginning operation, the Singapore engine center has delivered 3,730
PW4000 series of engines (that power Airbus A300, A310 and A330
aircraft family as well as Boeing 747, 767, 777 and MD11 aircraft),
174 CFM56 engines (that power Airbus A340 aircraft), 47 GE90
engines (that power Boeing 777 aircraft) and 3,049 JT9D series of
engines (that power Boeing 747-100 aircraft).
A joint venture between Pratt & Whitney and SIA Engineering
Co., the engine center also recently surpassed the
US-billion-dollar revenue mark. Growing from its beginnings to
support Singapore Airlines' (SIA) 747 fleet, the engine center
today maintains a diverse portfolio of customers from around the
world – with approximately 50 percent from the Americas, 40 percent
from Asia Pacific and the
remaining from Africa,
Europe and Middle East.
"This milestone delivery of 7,000 engines is a substantial
accomplishment," said William
Kircher, Pratt & Whitney's Singapore Overhaul and Repair
vice president. "We are pleased our Singapore engine center has accomplished this
feat, demonstrating it has developed world-class service
excellence, is able to provide high quality engine repair and
overhaul services, and wins customers from all over the world."
"We're also thankful for the support from the Singapore government over these years. We hope
to see many more milestones from the Singapore engine center, and look forward to
working closely with Singapore as
we continue to grow our presence on the island."
The Pratt & Whitney Singapore engine center, Eagle Services
Asia Pte Ltd (ESA), currently maintains a capacity to overhaul up
to 300 jet engines annually and employs close to 900 employees. As
part of Pratt & Whitney's Global Service Partners network
providing large commercial engine maintenance, repair and overhaul
(MRO) services to customers worldwide, the engine center is
equipped with extensive part repair capacity that helps reduce
engine overhaul costs and turnaround times.
ESA first began operations in 1981 as Singapore Engine Overhaul
Centre (SEOC), a division of SIA Engineering Company, following the
incorporation of Singapore Airlines' engine overhaul division. At
the same time, it relocated from Paya Lebar to a small building to
be strategically adjacent to Changi International Airport to
support the airline's then fleet of JT9D engines. In 1998, it
entered into a joint venture with Pratt & Whitney.
Since then, it has grown to a 655,000 square-feet (more than
60,000 square meters) footprint. It also expanded its capabilities
to become the Center of Excellence for the Pratt & Whitney
PW4000 engine series, while having grown its customer base to serve
other aircraft operators. Today, the engine center serves a diverse
and global mix of the world's leading airlines, low cost carriers
and air-cargo operators.
"Over the years, ESA has grown from serving primarily SIA's
fleet," said Ronald Chandler, Eagle
Services Asia managing director. "Today, it has evolved with high
quality operating standards and responsive turnaround processes to
support numerous third party aircraft operators that maintain their
own exacting engineering standards and quality philosophies."
Lim Kok Kiang, Executive
Director, Transport Engineering, Singapore Economic Development
Board (EDB), said, "We congratulate ESA for its significant
achievement. Pratt & Whitney was one of EDB's first
collaborations with major aerospace OEMs. Over the past three
decades, ESA has grown and matured together with our industry. And
as the demand for MRO grows, we look forward to Pratt &
Whitney's continued expansion in Singapore to support its growing customer base
in Asia-Pacific, and around the
world."
In anticipation of latest Pratt & Whitney's game-changing
technology, the engine center has begun developing the capability
to support the new PurePower® PW1000G engine family. The
Singapore facility will be the
world's first engine center to service the PW1500G engine, the
PurePower® variant that will power the Bombardier C-Series
aircraft. This designation marks a confidence of Singapore as an aviation hub in the world and
will involve additional investment in Singapore. The PurePower® engine, with its
patented Geared Turbofan technology, is Pratt & Whitney's
latest game changing technology for the future generation of
passenger aircraft and hypersonic propulsion systems for aircraft,
proven to deliver double digit improvements in fuel efficiency,
emissions and noise reduction.
"The beginning of SEOC actually dates further back when the
engine module shop began in an area of 3 engine bays in SIA's 747
hangar at Paya Lebar," said William
Goh, an employee who joined ESA as an apprentice engineer
since it started. He presently oversees module and repair
operations as the department's general manager at ESA.
"I've stayed employed at ESA over its 30 years of operations
because I've continued to learn and developed my career in the
aviation industry. The team here has always approached the
ever-changing industry with a willingness to learn and adapt. We've
benefitted with knowing what we know today – our experience has
defined us. It has shaped our passion for the aviation
industry."
Pratt & Whitney Global Service Partners is a total service
provider for engines made by Pratt & Whitney, International
Aero Engines, General Electric, Rolls-Royce and CFMI®. Pratt
& Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and
service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and
industrial gas turbines. United Technologies, based in
Hartford, Conn., is a diversified
company providing high technology products and services to the
global aerospace and commercial building industries.
Learn more at www.pw.utc.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/prattandwhitney
Twitter: www.twitter.com/prattandwhitney
Audrey
Tan
|
Leo
Makowski
|
Regional
Communications
|
Global
Service Partners
|
Mobile +65
9675 9395
|
Mobile
+1-860-543-2846
|
audrey.tan@pw.utc.com
|
leo.makowski@pw.utc.com
|
SOURCE Pratt & Whitney