Excellence in operations
We continue to invest in operational capacity to fulfil the commitments we have made to our customers and to enable the long-term growth and productivity of our business.
New manufacturing and
assembly facilities in Singapore
We have developed two new plants, one for the assembly and test of Trent engines and the other to manufacture our high-technology wide-chord fan blades for aero engines.
Focused on efficiency and delivery
We are focused on improving the efficiency of all our operational activities while, at the same time, expanding capacity in order to deliver our record order book.
In 2011, our capital investment on new and improved facilities was £467 million. Over the past decade underlying revenue per employee has more than doubled from £128k in 2001 to £274k in 2011.
Our Group is headquartered in the UK which remains our main employment centre and a key operations and manufacturing base. However, we are an increasingly global company. Early in 2012 we celebrated the opening of our major new facilities at Seletar, in Singapore, where we will manufacture wide-chord fan blades, and assemble and test Trent aero engines – the first time we have undertaken these activities outside the UK. This represents an important commitment to our growing customer base in Asia, and is one of 14 new facilities that we have opened over the past three years in locations including the UK, Germany, the US, Norway, China and Brazil.
As well as extending our global footprint, we continue to expand our product portfolio. 2011 saw the Trent 1000 engine enter service with ANA and the production programme for this latest member of the Trent family come on stream. In other major programmes we started production deliveries of the LiftSystem for the Joint Strike Fighter and the marine gas turbine, MT30 for the US Navy. The BR725 which powers the new Gulfstream G650 is scheduled to enter service later this year.
In October 2011, we announced a new joint venture with Pratt & Whitney to develop engines for the next generation of mid-sized aircraft. We also decided to restructure our participation in IAE, the joint venture which produces the V2500 engine for the A320 family of aircraft. We agreed to sell our equity stake in IAE to Pratt & Whitney, while remaining an important supplier of parts and engineering support for the engine programme. We continue to assemble 50 per cent of V2500 engines.
At the same time we continue to aim to offset all inflationary pressures through improved productivity and waste reduction programmes.
Integrated global approach
As we expand around the world, our operations strategy demands an integrated approach across activities, time zones and locations.
We continue to develop local capabilities to meet our customer requirements where appropriate. Brazil is a good example of this. We have had an aero repair and overhaul business there for over 50 years.
In 2009, we opened a service centre to support our growing marine business and, in 2011, we announced plans for the construction of a new US$100 million-plus gas turbine package, assembly and test facility for our energy business. This is expected to become operational in the first quarter of 2013.
These investments not only grow our global footprint but bring us closer to our customers in Brazil, adding significantly to our capabilities in a key growth market and enabling us to pursue further opportunities.
Supply partnerships and new programmes
Close collaboration with our suppliers is critical to our continued success. Around 70 per cent of our manufacturing is conducted within our supply chain. As we continually develop intellectual property in technology, manufacturing, materials and processes we decide which elements of our programmes we produce ourselves and those which will be subcontracted to our suppliers. Our relationship is open, analytical and collaborative. We estimate that our supply base is currently investing at around twice the level of Rolls-Royce in order to accommodate growth and deliver greater efficiency.
As well as working with suppliers, we partner with universities and manufacturing research centres around the world to develop new technologies and processes which are more effective, efficient and robust.
Rolls-Royce is a long-term business in which consistent investment sustained over many years has delivered expanding global capability, accompanied by steadily improving productivity and performance. These factors coupled with a high focus on product integrity, enable us to effectively address both our customers’ current needs and their future requirements.
Rolls-Royce continues to manufacture parts and assemble engines for the IAE V2500 programme.
