In March, just six months after construction began, GKN Aerospace’s new ‘bizjet’ engine integration facility in Phoenix, Arizona, made its first delivery. The facility supplied Honeywell HTF7250 engines, fully integrated into nacelle systems designed and manufactured by GKN Aerospace, to Gulfstream for its newest aircraft — the G280 super mid-size business jet.
Today, the new 24,000sq. ft. facility, which is situated alongside Honeywell’s Arizona operation, employs 30 people. At full capacity, it will employ 50 people and assemble 28 complete power systems per month.
By mid-2014, it will be performing all ‘podding’ of HTF7000 engines into GKN Aerospace nacelles and delivering each complete propulsion system (on Honeywell’s behalf) directly to the airframe end customer assembly line for business jets — such as the G280, as well as the Bombardier CL350 and the Embraer Legacy 450/500.
GKN Aerospace has been delivering nacelles for the HTF7000 series of engines for well over a decade; in 2008, it gained a lifetime supply contract that included responsibility for the full nacelle/engine integration process. Manufacturing of the nacelle system takes place at GKN Aerospace sites in St Louis (Missouri) and Cowes (UK).