Rolls-Royce is to expand its assembly, test and shop visit capacity in the UK and Germany.
The UK-based aero-engine maker is to invest £55 million (US$70 million) and recruit more than 300 operations staff in Derby, UK, and Dahlewitz, Germany. About half of the investment and two-thirds of the jobs will be created in Derby.
The engine build capacity in Derby is to be increased to deliver over 40% more new engines per year from 2025 – compared with average deliveries over the last 10 years.
Existing engine test capability for civil large engines in Dahlewitz will be used to support near-term rises in services demand, before the site switches to assembling and testing new Trent XWB-84 engines in 2026.
The investment will help meet growing long-term demand for new civil large engines and improve customer aftermarket support services for existing global Trent engines, said the company.
According to Rolls-Royce the number of Rolls-Royce powered aircraft in service to annually increase by 7 – 9% for the remainder of the decade and forecasts engine flying hours to reach 120 – 130% mid-term compared to 2019 levels.
The company also recently said it plans to invest £1 billion (US$1.3 billion) in a continuous improvement programme for the Trent engine family.
Rob Watson, president of civil aerospace at Rolls-Royce said, “These latest investments in our engine build and services capacity is further proof of our commitment to deliver both excellent products and services to our global customer base. We are ready to support our continued growth in the widebody market – delivering even greater availability, reliability, and efficiency.”
