Rolls-Royce looking for more suppliers
Group outsources fan cases for aircraft engines to UMW unit in Serendah
THE fan case that UMW Aerospace Sdn Bhd – a unit of UMW Holdings Bhd – delivered by road to RollsRoyce at the end of last month is awaiting its turn at the Rolls-Royce Seletar campus and test facility (Satu) in Singapore to be fitted with hundreds of other parts and components before it can power an aircraft.
The fan case – which forms one of the largest parts of an aircraft engine – is a module comprising 4,000 components. It goes through an assembly of cylindrical casings and a ring of outlet guide vanes. The front is designed to contain the fan blades that suck air into the engine.
In future, aircraft that local airlines like AirAsia, Malaysia Airlines or even Batik Air-Malindo Air operate may be fitted with this made-in-Malaysia fan case, although this would depend on the aircraft type and engine the airline picks.
Rolls-Royce has 25 suppliers with a presence in Asia-Pacific but globally, it has over 8,000 suppliers in 70 countries. Just for the Trend 1000 engine, it needs 18,000 components to assemble and power the engine.
Dr Bicky Bhangu, Rolls-Royce’s regional director for South East Asia-Pacific and South Korea, says the company continues to explore more suppliers, be it in Malaysia or Asia.
But the question is, how many companies are willing to invest and move up the chain and eventu- ally become a tier-1 supplier?
As for UMW Aerospace, it is a tier-1 supplier to Rolls-Royce. In 2015, UMW Holdings entered into a 25-year agreement with RollsRoyce to manufacture and assemble fan cases for Trent 1000 and Trent 7000 aero engines.
Rolls-Royce is making changes to its global supply chain from a make:buy ratio of 70:30 to 20:80. It says that by 2020, it is looking for opportunities to balance its supply chain globally and this is estimated to be US$2bil in spend in the AsiaPacific region.
Fan cases for the Rolls-Royce Trent engines are currently produced by two Rolls-Royce facilities in Britain, and two external suppliers – one in Italy and the other by UMW Aerospace.
Once at Satu, these fan cases go through an assembly line to be fitted with hundreds of parts and components before they enter the final phase, where the aircraft engine will be tested before it is flown, either to Seattle for Boeing aircraft or Tolouse in France for Airbus. All this depends on timing, aircraft and the engine type.
“It takes about 20 to 30 days for our engineers to assemble and test an engine, depending on the scope and type of engines,” Bhangu told the media during a plant visit to Singapore.
Satu was set up by Rolls-Royce in 2012 and is one of the three plants owned by Rolls-Royce where large civil aerospace engines are assembled. The others are in Derby in Britain and Dahlewitz in Germany.
The Seletar plant covers an area of 65,000 sq m, sitting on a 154,000sq-m site. It is able to produce 250 engines a year and will reach full capacity next year. Satu assembles the Trent 900 for the Airbus A380, the Trent 1000 for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and soon the Trent 7000, which will exclusively power the Airbus A330neo.
The AirAsia group, particularly AirAsia X (AAX), has ordered 66 A330neos and future deliveries may comprise fans made by UMW Aerospace.
To be a Rolls-Royce supplier, especially a tier-1 supplier like UMW Aerospace, a company has to go through a rigorous supplier selection process and meet the quality standards required of the components used in the aerospace industry.
Apart from engines for new aircraft, Rolls-Royce also overhauls engines. It overhauls 400 to 500 engines a year, says Ewen McDonald, senior vice-president, Asia-Pacific.
“Every five years, an engine has to come in for an overhaul and there is a huge aircraft engine overhaul market. There are various facilities across the globe to cater for the overhaul of engines,” he adds.
It can take a few days to weeks to overhaul an engine, and experts say the global engine maintenance, repair and overhaul market is expected to be worth around US$37bil by 2020.
The Rolls-Royce group’s order book stands at £79.6bil and of this, the civil aerospace order book stands at £71.4bil.
It says over 50% of the RollsRoyce order book comes from Asia and the Middle East, as demand for aircraft is huge from these markets.
Even with so many orders that run over several years, Rolls-Royce is constantly looking for new business and its eyes are on Malaysia Airlines, which has made orders to buy eight B787-900 aircraft but has yet to decide on the engine type.
Malaysia Airlines is a Rolls-Royce customer, as six of its A380 planes are powered by Rolls-Royce engines. They also power the A350 XWB, the first of which has been delivered to the airline, which will use it for its London route.
AAX, the sister airline of AirAsia, also uses the Trent 700 engines for its fleet of Airbus A330, and also for its 66 new A330neos.
Rolls-Royce is a global company providing highly-efficient integrated power and propulsion solutions. Its power systems are predominantly used in aerospace, marine, energy and off-highway applications. It produces aero engines for large civil aircraft and business aviation jets, and is a provider of defence aero engines. It has also established itself in the marine and nuclear sectors.