Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC), a division of the larger US-based Pratt & Whitney (P&W), has announced an investment of over ...
The investment which includes a $300 million repayable contribution from Canadian Government under the Strategic Aerospace and Defence Initiative (SADI) program will go into its Longueuil (Quebec) and Mississauga (Ontario) facilities in Canada.
PW&C' latest R&D programs include cutting-edge materials such as composites and advanced alloys to improve engine weight, a high-efficiency compressor technology to enhance engine performance and reduce fuel consumption, and further improvements to our combustion systems to reduce engine emissions.
These technologies will be leveraged across the company's product families for new and existing turbofan, turboprop and turboshaft engines in business, regional and general aviation and helicopter applications.
This R&D investment will also strengthen P&WC's long-standing collaboration with major universities and suppliers across Canada. PW&C invests $10 million in projects with close to 20 Canadian universities to develop new engine technologies every year.
With an average $450 million in annual R&D investments over the past 10 years, it ranks among the top Canadian R&D investors.
Continuous R&D investments have allowed the company to certify more than 100 engines over the past 25 years, a benchmark in the aerospace industry.
P&WC has a strong presence across Canada, with major facilities in Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia employing more than 6,000 people, including approximately 1,400 professionals in engineering at its R&D facilities in Ontario and Quebec.
Inaugurated in 2011, the P&WC Mirabel Aerospace Centre, located near the Montréal-Mirabel International Airport, is currently supporting flight testing for the complete range of Pratt & Whitney engines, including turboprops and turbofans up to 90,000 pounds of thrust.
Assembly and test of the PurePower® PW1524G for the Bombardier CSeries and the PurePower® PW800 engine recently selected to power the Gulfstream G500 and G600 business jets will be performed at this facility. The new PW814GA and PW815GA engines are expected to be certified at the end of 2014.
P&WC is also currently investing $275 million over five years in cutting-edge technologies and upgrades to its facilities, including the creation of a world-class Centre of Excellence for intelligent manufacturing in Longueuil. The facility will feature three new intelligent production lines dedicated to manufacturing highly complex key components for the new-generation family of PurePower® engines. It is expected to be fully operational in 2015.
P&WC is famous for the PT6 turboprop engine, one of the most popular aircraft engines in history, known for its extremely high reliability. Unlike its US based parent, PW&C develops smaller engines.
