Engines
Pratt Sharpens Focus on Supply Chain for GTF Ramp-Up
P&W improves processes and gets smart on manufacturing engines, getting the best out of suppliers.
Pratt & Whitney PW1100Gs power the first two Airbus A320neos. (Photo: Airbus)
Pratt & Whitney PW1100Gs power the first two Airbus A320neos. (Photo: Airbus)

A rejuvenated Pratt & Whitney expects to see a 30- to 40-percent improvement in the time it takes to assemble a PW1100G geared turbofan for the Airbus A320neo compared with its “legacy” engines, thanks to a new so-called horizontal build process.  Instituted in March at its plant in Middletown, Connecticut, it uses a system designed and installed by Germany’s Durr Group, and Pratt thinks it could see a 50-percent efficiency gain as the process matures. The system has been in place at the Pratt & Whitney Canada facility in Mirabel, Canada, for some five years and at the “big” Pratt’s plant in West Palm Beach, Florida, since last summer. Pratt’s moving production line process is the centerpiece of the company’s plan to accelerate rates from zero to 500 PW1100Gs per year–and at least 800 GTFs overall–within two and half to three years.