Check out Pratt & Whitney’s new Singapore engine center

It plans to inject $7m for facility upgrade.

To accommodate its growing fleet of GP7200 engines, Pratt & Whitney Eagle Services Asia (ESA) has set up a new engine center in Singapore. Previously a center of excellence for GP7200 low pressure compressor (LPC) overhauls, ESA will now become a full engine overhaul center.

The Singapore engine center has state-of-the-art modern assembly lines and world class repair capabilities including PW4000 (94”, 100” and 112”) series engines, and GE90-115B engines overhaul, heavy maintenance, hot section refurbishment, module repair, inspection, performance enhancements, engine testing and field support to help aero-engine operators reduce engine overhaul costs and turnaround times.

Although the facility is not new, Pratt & Whitney’s Singapore engine center was recently designated the first engine overhaul shop in Asia for the GP7200 engines powering the Airbus A380 aircraft – the world's largest passenger airliner. The shop is responsible for the disassembly, assembly and testing (DAT) of the GP7200 engine, which involves MRO for the five-stage low-pressure compressor, fan hub, drum, blades and stator assembly.

This development comes in addition to being appointed as an overhaul site for the GP7200 low pressure compressor (LPC) in February this year, and its current capability to handle overhaul and heavy maintenance for PW4000 and the GE90 engines.

“The decision to bring the new capability into this facility is to ensure that customers’ needs are met in a time manner. Bringing service closer to where customers operate makes maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) work as convenient and cost-effective as possible,” said a spokesperson.

The center will form part of the network supporting the 115 EA-powered A380s currently in operation around the globe: 81 with Emirates, ten with Air France, ten with Korean Air, six with Qatar Airways and eight with Etihad Airways.

According to a spokesperson, a key challenge faced to get the project done was equipping the engine center with the right tools and equipment.

The team studied the specifications of the engine and identified a list of tools and equipment that was required, with the tedious process taking about a month to complete. Specialized tools, such as fixtures, stands, lifting devices, removal and installment tools are required. It is also bringing in specialized machines, such as a rotor balancing machine, specifically for this new capability.

It also had to free up space in the existing floor space for work on Engine Alliance’s GP7000 engines. Optimizing space by consolidating the disassembly and assembly areas for other engine lines, it managed to free up 238 square meters of space, allowing for an increased capacity for the GP7000.

It plans to invest more than US$5 million (S$6.95m) on equipment and infrastructure, as well as retraining of its employees to bring this new capability into its Singapore-based engine center.