GE Aircraft Engines plans to build 100 GEnx engines this year and double that number next year, as the company accelerates production to meet a demand for 700 units from now through 2013. Now flying engines on the Boeing 747-8 and the 787 Dreamliner, GE–as of June 1–had built 28 GEnx-2Bs for the Boeing 747-8 and some 20 for the GEnx-1Bs for the 787. By the time the final assembly line in Durham, North Carolina, reaches peak efficiency, its maximum capacity could possibly produce more than 300 engines a year by 2015, according to GEnx program manager Tom Brisken.
Of course, exactly how many engines GE delivers and when will depend largely on Boeing’s success in reaching a production rate of seven, then ten 787s a month once it opens its second assembly line in North Charleston, South Carolina. Just as in the case of the two-year delay in the 787’s first flight, GE can only watch and wait. In the meantime, it continues to work on weight-saving efforts and a project to incorporate into the design a new low-pressure turbine early next year.
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