Pratt & Whitney aligns with Tube Processing
To expand their service offerings for the world's industrial gas turbine industry and the airlines, Pratt & Whitney and Tube Processing Corporation plan to form a joint venture to manufacture and repair engine components, said James Robinson, Pratt & Whitney's president of aftermarket services.
The joint venture, International Aerospace Tubes, plans to manufacture tubes, ducts and manifolds. It also plans to provide repair services for all Pratt & Whitney engine models and the International Aero Engines V2500, Rolls-Royce RB211, Tay engines, and GE's CF6 and the CFMI CFM56 power plants. The joint venture expects customers to include airframe, engine, and land-based turbine manufacturers.
According to Robinson, the joint venture will also provide repair services and serviceable material directly to airlines and to engine overhaul shops. International Aerospace Tubes plans to occupy more than 100,000 square feet in Indianapolis, IN and will employ more than 150 people.
The new company also plans to form a separate joint venture in Singapore with SIA Engineering Company to repair and overhaul similar components there, Robinson said.
"This new venture continues our expansion of service offerings to our customers," he said. "We are extremely excited to expand our working relationship with Tube Processing Corporation."
According to George Seybert, chairman and CEO of Tube Processing, the company has been a supplier to Pratt & Whitney since 1963. "We are particularly excited to partner with Pratt & Whitney to offer our services, including our extensive repair development expertise, to the entire turbine and airframe manufacturing sector as well as to overhaul and repair providers."
Pratt & Whitney Engine Services offers complete engine overhauls at facilities in Connecticut, Georgia, Texas, Singapore, Norway and Saudi Arabia, and also provides repair services in more than 20 locations throughout the world. It also offers fleet, material and inventory management programs for both commercial and military customers.
Founded in 1939, Tube Processing operates several divisions in Indianapolis, supplying industrial and aerospace customers with precision sheet metal parts as well as manufacturing and repairing tubes, ducts and manifolds. Tube Processing specializes in complex brazed and welded assemblies over a wide range of diameters and lengths.
While the focus has been on the gas turbine aerospace engine market, Seybert said the company has made significant progress in complex assemblies for the growing industrial and marine turbine markets.
For more information about this new alliance, contact Mark Sullivan of Pratt & Whitney, 860-565-9600, or visit www.pratt-whitney.com.
Edited by April C. Murelio
Managing Editor, Power Online