Photo: Barnes AerospaceGE Aerospace has awarded a six-year contract to Barnes Aerospace to manufacture components for the T700/CT7 family of engines at its Newton Abbot (UK), and in doing so ‘is supporting the ambitions of the UK Government’s Strategic Defence Review for resilient supply chains and a thriving industrial base’. Under this contract,
Barnes Aerospace will produce T700/CT7 aerofoils, work that builds on a partnership between GE Aerospace and Barnes Aerospace that spans more than 30 years.
George Whittier, Barnes Aerospace’s CEO, said: “Barnes Aerospace is delighted to continue our long-standing partnership with GE Aerospace through the development of aerofoil components for the T700/CT7 programme from our Newton Abbot facility. This represents the first package of work from GE Aerospace to Newton Abbot, and we see it as the start of a long-term relationship with our facility, which already produces up to one million aerofoil components per year.”
GE Aerospace says the contract also aligns with the company’s focus on supporting rotorcraft customers throughout the region, in turn bringing numerous economic benefits to the UK, including job creation, new apprenticeship opportunities, new manufacturing capabilities, new skills development, and exports. Rita Flaherty, GE Aerospace’s vice president of global sales and business development, added: “These expanding relationships reflect GE Aerospace’s ongoing effort to building strong supplier relationships that drive economic impact and industrial advancement in the UK.
“The recent agreement with Barnes Aerospace is a result of GE Aerospace’s continuing efforts to expand its commercial collaborations with UK businesses to support its local manufacturing and service footprint. As a part of this initiative, GE Aerospace recently hosted a UK supplier showcase event at its US headquarters in Evendale, Ohio, where more than 50 UK-based suppliers gathered to explore opportunities for partnership and growth.”
GE Aerospace — a global provider of aerospace propulsion, services, and systems — has a global team of about 53,000 employees. In the UK, GE Aerospace’s footprint spans maintenance, repair, and overhaul of aircraft engines (MRO) at sites in Scotland and South Wales, to propeller, electrical power and avionics systems businesses in Gloucester and Cheltenham, for programmes that include the Mk2 AH-64-E Apache, C-130J, Eurofighter Typhoon and F-35, Boeing P-8 Poseidon, and E-7 Wedgetail.
Barnes Aerospace undertakes the full life-cycle supply and repair of complex aero-engine components from fan to exhaust, with component repair and overhaul (CRO) services for both commercial and defence aero-engine platforms.