Cincinnati: Aircraft engine supplier GE Aerospace (General Electric) announced on Monday plans to invest more than $1 billion over five years in its Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) and component repair facilities worldwide. Of this, $60 million has been earmarked for GE’s facilities in Europe and the Middle East, including the MRO capabilities in Doha, Qatar, and Dubai, UAE.
The largest portion of the investment will support the growing demand for CFM LEAP engines, a high-bypass turbofan engine produced by CFM International, a 50-50 joint venture between GE Aerospace and Safran Aircraft Engines.
With over 3,300 LEAP-powered aircraft in service and more than 10,000 additional engines on backlog, the global commercial airline fleet is set to expand significantly in the coming years, GE said in a statement. The LEAP-1A engines power the Airbus A320neo family, and LEAP-1B engines are used in the Boeing 737 MAX series.
Investment breakdown
In 2024, GE Aerospace will invest $250 million in its regional repair and overhaul facilities as part of a $1 billion five-year investment plan. This funding will support facility expansions, new machines, tooling upgrades, and safety enhancements worldwide.
In the United States, approximately $65 million will be allocated to facilities in Cincinnati, Ohio; McAllen, Texas; Lafayette, Indiana; Dallas, Texas; and Winfield, Kansas. For South America, about $55 million will be invested in the Petropolis facility in Brazil.
In Europe and the Middle East, a total of $60 million will be distributed among facilities in Budapest, Hungary; Prestwick, Scotland; London, England; Cardiff, Wales; Wroclaw, Poland; Doha, Qatar; and Dubai, UAE.
In the Asia Pacific, $45 million will be used for facilities in Singapore, Taipei, Taiwan, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Seoul, South Korea.
GE Aerospace’s MRO facilities keep more than 40,000 commercial aircraft engines flying. Customer services include engine disassembly and reassembly, maintenance, repair, inspection, and testing.
GE has said these investments will help the company create capacity to meet growth in both the widebody and narrow body installed base by adding additional engine test cells and equipment. “The funding also will add new technology, including enhanced inspection techniques, to reduce turnaround times for customers as well as expand component repair capability within its overhaul shops,” it added.
Growing demand
Russell Stokes, GE Aerospace President and CEO of Commercial Engines and Services said, “Our customers are experiencing strong air travel demand, and we are investing to increase our capacity and efficiency so we can meet their growing needs and keep their planes flying safely and reliably.”
Stokes said, “With this major investment, we are reinforcing our longstanding focus on safety, quality, and delivery for our customers and the flying public.”
GE has said that a major part of the MRO funding this year will be used to construct a new Services Technology Acceleration Center (STAC) near Cincinnati, Ohio.
Opening in September 2024, STAC will help accelerate the deployment of innovative service approaches, including inspection technologies that detect emerging issues sooner and reduce customer airplane downtime.
General Electric completed the spin off of its aviation and energy businesses earlier this year, launching GE Aerospace as a standalone company. At the Dubai Airshow last year, the company recorded more than 450 engine orders.
