GKN Aerospace new investment in Baja California
By Adina Moloman
Sources: GKN Aerospace, Aerospace & defense news
GKN Aerospace has opened in this third trimester of 2012 a new 80,000ft2 (7,430m2) composites manufacturing facility in Mexicali, Baja California.
The facility will start off producing composite structures for the Sikorsky BlackHawk helicopter as its first component and expects it to start delivering parts by the end of 2012. By this is introducing in Mexico their new strong metallic technique that renovates the aviation industry.
By 2017 is expected the production for more types of components, including those for rotary and fixed-wing commercial aircraft.
This new Mexico Manufacturing composite facility will provide direct manufacturing support to the company’s main facility in Tallassee, Alabama. Mexico’s components are only one part of the production chain. The GKN Aerospace parts are destined for clients like GE, HondaJet and Airbus in addition to work for Sikorsky.
With this new site situated in the PIMSA industrial park, the Baja California Cluster is consolidating even more.
So far in Mexico GKN Aerospace have two big operations in three facilities in Mexicali and San Luis Potosi where they manufacture engine fan cases, containment cases, fan ducts and shroud assemblies, other than the composite structures. The clients for the Mexico operation are aerospace multinational companies like Honeywell, Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce and Allison.
GKN Aerospace is a British multinational corporation that manufactures highly complex composite, metallic aero-structures and engine products. They also equally operate on military and civil markets.
The GKN group is getting bigger by acquiring Volvo Aero (the aero engine division of AB Volvo), which designs, engineers and manufactures components and sub-assemblies for aircraft engine turbines.
