Aircraft engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney Canada is to spend $10 million on upgrading its component repair facility in Wichita Falls, Texas.
The outlay, which the engine maker said “is expected to create 30 new jobs”, will see it modify the plant’s coatings line using an “innovative application process”.
Mechanics at the Wichita Falls location fix the combustion sections of Pratt & Whitney Canada engines, a process that sees parts such as turbine blades given a special coating to protect against the high temperatures needed to operate high-performance jet engines.
“Our Wichita Falls facility will be the first of our plants to pioneer a new coating process which will significantly improve the durability and performance of our engines,” said Irene Makris, vice president, customer service.
“The City of Wichita Falls views companies like Pratt & Whitney as integral to the health of the local economy and our ability to foster well-paying jobs for our workforce,” said Stephen Santellana, the city’s mayor.
“We continue to invest and grow in Wichita Falls because of the strength of the local workforce, the support of the community, and the enthusiastic ‘can do’ attitude of our Wichita Falls team and leadership,” Makris added.
The May 12 statement was the company’s first press release since it on April 21 announced a sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) collaboration with Airbus Canada and SAF+ Consortium. The collaboration is to include “flight testing blends of up to 100% SAF on an Airbus A220 aircraft powered by Pratt & Whitney GTF engines” and “will also comprise feasibility studies for establishing local production facilities for power-to-liquid e-SAF in Quebec”.
The statement also said that the collaboration “will assess the feasibility of developing a commercial e-SAF plant in Quebec, targeting an annual output of up to 100 million litres of e-SAF by 2028. e-SAF would be produced using power-to-liquid technology, using renewable energy to synthesise captured CO2 emissions with green hydrogen, producing a clean aviation fuel with a potential reduction in lifecycle CO2 emissions by up to 90% compared to conventional kerosene”.
