Pratt & Whitney’s new World-Class turbine Airfoil Production Facility in Asheville, North Carolina is nearing completion, with initial operational capability expected in Q2 2023. The facility will support high volume programs such as the GTF and F135 engines.
On Wednesday (November 16, 2022), Pratt & Whitney announced the near completion of their new world-class, state-of-the-art turbine airfoil production facility in Asheville, North Carolina. Initial operational capability is expected to start during the second quarter of 2023. The 1.2 million square-foot facility incorporates industry 4.0 standards, with highly automated manufacturing processes to improve safety, quality, productivity and cost, and will support high volume programs such as the Pratt & Whitney GTF and F135 engines.
At today’s ribbon cutting ceremony in Asheville, Pratt & Whitney’s President, Shane Eddy, said,
“Pratt & Whitney’s new Asheville facility is a cornerstone of our industrial transformation and a key investment that will support growing demand for GTF engine-powered aircraft and for the F135 engine, which powers the F-35 Lightning II. It represents the harmonized execution of our CORE Operating System and fully integrated Industry 4.0 capabilities designed around our people and processes that add value to our products. It’s an honor to celebrate the ribbon cutting of this facility in the state that was first in flight.”
The new Asheville facility will complement existing airfoil work being done across Pratt & Whitney’s facilities. The state-of-the-art LEED certified plant features an advanced casting foundry and conduct machining, coating and finishing of airfoils onsite. During the first year of production, the company expects the facility will have 100 percent connected machines and employee digital information flow. Pratt & Whitney’s $650 million investment in the Asheville Turbine Airfoil Production plant is expected to create 800 new jobs through 2027, with most of the current 150 positions having been filled by local hires.
A division of Raytheon Technologies Corporation (NYSE: RTX), Pratt & Whitney is a global leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft and helicopter engines and auxiliary power units (APUs) for commercial, military, regional, business and general aviation aircraft. Pratt & Whitney is known for their innovative technologies such as the Geared Turbofan (GTF) commercial aircraft engine and the PW800 business jet engine.
Source: Pratt & Whitney