ATK Agrees to Contract in Excess of $200 Million to Produce Composite Aft Fan Cases for Rolls-Royce Trent XWB Engines
(NYSE: ATK) announced today that it has agreed to a contract valued in excess
of
new Trent XWB engine. The Rolls-Royce Trent XWB is the sole engine currently
available to power the new Airbus A350 XWB family of aircraft.
The contract with Rolls-Royce, under which ATK becomes a partner on the
Trent XWB program, builds on ATK’s legacy of experience in producing high-
quality, large-scale composite components for the aerospace industry. At the
date of this announcement, Rolls-Royce has received orders for over 1,000
Trent XWB engines, representing an unprecedented launch position for a large
civil aerospace engine at such an early stage in the program. In addition to
fabricating the aft fan cases, ATK will integrate additional components into
the cases to deliver a finished aft case in support of Rolls-Royce’s assembly
of the full fan case module.
The first ATK-fabricated Trent XWB aft fan case is scheduled for delivery
to Rolls-Royce in late 2009. Initial ground testing of the Trent XWB is due
to commence in 2010, with maiden flight on the new Airbus twinjet scheduled
for 2012. Support of the Rolls-Royce design effort and initial production of
the Trent XWB aft fan cases will begin immediately.
“ATK’s competitive advantage in composite fabrication technology, built on
decades of experience, offers our customers industry-best quality and
affordability that can only come from automated fabrication processes,” said
will revolutionize the industry and this agreement is strong evidence that ATK
is well positioned to be a leading force in the production of composite
aircraft and engine components for decades to come. We look forward to
working with Rolls-Royce on this exciting new program.”
ATK has been meeting the requirements for advanced aerospace composites,
and successfully executing on large composite programs for decades. For more
than 20 years, since ATK invented the fiber placement process and built the
first fiber placement machine, ATK has been at the forefront of composite
process technology. ATK has developed processes, from high-speed filament
winding to phased array ultrasonic inspection for military and space purposes
that are designed to improve quality, reduce cycle time, increase
repeatability and reduce cost.
In addition to the composites ATK will provide for the Trent XWB, the
company also produces composite fan containment cases for commercial aircraft
engines, composite solid rocket motor casings and launch vehicle payload
fairings; composite military aircraft wing skins, stabilators and pivot shafts
for aircraft such as the F-22 and Joint Strike Fighter; and composite rotor
tubes for nuclear power generation.
ATK’s patented automated composites processing technology significantly
reduces fabrication costs while dramatically improving the quality of the
final product. The use of this technology allows ATK to produce consistently
high-quality composite production parts, essential for the Trent XWB standards
of efficiency and reduced lifecycle costs.
ATK is a premier aerospace and defense company with more than 17,000
employees in 21 states and
be found on the Internet at http://www.atk.com.
Certain information discussed in this press release constitutes forward-
looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. Although ATK believes that the expectations reflected in such
forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no
assurance that its expectations will be achieved. Forward-looking information
is subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from those projected. Among those factors are:
the challenges of developing next-generation composite structures; customer
budgetary policies and product sourcing strategies; the company’s competitive
environment; the terms and timing of awards and contracts; and economic
conditions. ATK undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking
statements. For further information on factors that could impact ATK, and
statements contained herein, please refer to ATK’s most recent Annual Report
on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current
reports on Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Media Contact:
Tom Van Leunen
Phone: 703-412-3218
E-mail: thomas.vanleunen@atk.com
Investor Contact:
Steve Wold
Phone: 952-351-3056
E-mail: steve.wold@atk.com
SOURCE ATK