|
 But the industry veteran said he knew how to find out whether the
company's make-or-break production goals for the latest short-haul
airplane engine are under strain.
"I will get every engine serial number and will see the parts that
are committed and if it supports the engine shipment date," Robert
Leduc told Reuters at the Singapore Airshow.
Speaking after opening a high-tech fan-blade plant in Singapore,
Leduc also played down concerns over aircraft demand, saying the
company had seen no deferrals or cancellations.
Once dominant in commercial aviation, Pratt lost its way in the
1990s after betting on the wrong category of plane and leaving the
door open to General Electric <GE.N> and its French partner Safran <SAF.PA>,
who now lead sales by volume.
It is seeking to regain its position with a fuel efficient engine
for jets including the Airbus <AIR.PA> A320neo as well as Canada's
Bombardier <BBDb.TO> and the latest model of Embraer.
Developed at a cost of $10 billion, the Geared Turbofan engines
claim to burn 15 percent less fuel and have already influenced the
way some future jet engines are designed.
Pratt has sold 7,000 of them and triggered other engine and plane
developments. But analysts warn the company still has much to prove
as it attempts to increase production seven-fold in the next four
years.
When the previous president stepped down earlier than expected last
month after steering through development, the boss of parent United
Technologies <UTX.N> named retired operations expert Leduc to take
on the crucial early production phase.
It was the second time the no-nonsense 59-year-old had been pulled
out of retirement.
Returning to Pratt & Whitney's Connecticut offices on Jan. 14, Leduc
paid tribute to the advanced design, but told senior staff: "Now
we've got to execute and deliver to our customers. Our reputation
depends on it," according to a person present.
It plans to make 200 Geared Turbofans this year, roughly doubling in
2017. That number will grow close to 1,400 by 2020.
GE-Safran venture CFM International also has aggressive output
plans, but benefits from an existing supply chain.
FIST FIGHTS OVER
Both engine makers are at the forefront of a record output drive
that has triggered concerns over the ability of weaker suppliers to
keep up.
Any slip-ups could affect profit across the sector and Pratt must
additionally demonstrate it can execute on an all-new civil project
for the first time in years.
"I have spent an inordinate amount of time on this in the last four
weeks; it was probably my number one priority, digging into the
industrial schedule," Leduc said.
[to top of second column] |
With $22 billion of long-term supply agreements, or 85 percent of
its needs now in place, confidence in suppliers has risen in the
past year, Leduc said. That allows Pratt to focus most effort on the
engines where needed.
"We weren't managing that way last year," Leduc said.
"I think every engine was a fist fight; we didn't have the fidelity
around the (supplier) commitments. Now the design is stable; once
(that happens) you give your operations a fighting chance to
deliver."
Even so, some glitches need to be resolved.
The Airbus A320neo missed an end-2015 target for first delivery
after it emerged the engines needed longer than usual to start
properly, adding precious minutes to turnaround times.
A part was redesigned and will be followed by a software fix in 3-4
weeks. But the problem is an example of the slim margin for error in
the cut-throat short-haul airline market.
Most modern jet engines need 150-180 seconds to start up. Pratt's
new engines currently need closer to 350 seconds. By June the goal
is to get this to 200 seconds, and by end-year back to normal, a
person familiar with the repair plan said.
The engines have also faced a problem with sophisticated control
software sending erroneous messages to the cockpit, adding extra
workload before the plane can take off.
Engineers aim to eliminate 65 percent of the rogue messages by April
and the rest by June. They are not related to aircraft systems and
don't present any safety risk, Leduc said.
He said there had been no schedule delays since he took the job last
month. Industry sources have cited previous delays and say Airbus is
renegotiating some deliveries. Both firms say output will be skewed
towards the second half.
"I have got a fair amount of confidence in what is going to happen.
I think we have got enough fidelity around our plants now and our
investment and our supplier commitments that we are confident that
we are going to make this ramp-up," Leduc said.
(Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by Mike Collett-White)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |
