Magellan Aerospace has a new, 10-year supply agreement to provide magnesium and aluminum sand castings to Pratt & Whitney Canada, including parts it already supplies (described as “legacy castings”) and new products that will be included in P&WC’s PurePower series of turbofan jet engines.
The supplier estimated the contract as representing C$250 million (est. $209 million ) in revenue through 2023.
Most of the castings will be produced at the Magellan Aerospace foundry in Haley, ON, which produces “complex, large sand castings, engine inlet, fan and intermediate cases, engine accessory gearboxes and subsystem housings, APU gearboxes, and helicopter transmission housings.”
Some of the castings will be produced at a plant in Glendale, AZ, which manufactures “medium complexity castings (that) complement the larger, more complex castings from the Canadian casting operation.”
Pratt & Whitney Canada has been sourcing castings from the Haley foundry for more than 50 years, according to Magellan’s announcement, and it added that the new contract “provides the framework for a new level of strategic alignment with P&WC.”
“This 10-year agreement demonstrates P&WC’s confidence in Magellan’s ability to produce some of the most complex sand cast geometries in the industry,” according to Phillip Underwood, Magellan president and CEO. “Magellan has invested and will continue to invest in innovative new technologies, such as robotics and 3D sand printing, to meet its commitment to achieve the highest standard of product and performance.”
Pratt & Whitney Canada is an affiliate of Pratt & Whitney, and both are subsidiaries of United Technologies Corp., a defense manufacturer. The PurePower engines are a series of geared turbofan engines supplied to a number of aircraft builders, including the Airbus A320neo, Bombardier for its CSeries twin-engine jets, Mitsubishi Aircraft for its Mitsubishi Regional Jets, and Embraer’s E-Series regional jets.
Last month, it announced a C$1-billion (est. $835-million) investment project over 4.5 years, for R&D programs at its operations in Longueuil, PQ, and Mississauga, ON, to develop new high-performance aircraft engine technologies. The research will be focused on new propulsion technologies to improve environmental performance, including reduced fuel consumption and weight, lower emissions and less noise. These technologies would be applied to the group’s current and emerging turbofan, turboprop and turboshaft engines for business, regional, and general aviation and helicopter applications.
“The solid working relationship we have developed with Magellan over the past 50 years will continue to benefit both companies for many years to come,” stated Irene Makris, v.p. - Supply Management, Pratt & Whitney Canada. “These are highly complex engine components and we’re confident that Magellan can consistently meet our demanding technical and quality specifications.”