Rolls-Royce Plans New R & O Facility in Scotland

Engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce is planning to build a new repair and overhaul facility in East Kilbride, Scotland to replacement the existing operation. As the latter is more than 50 years old, investing in a new facility will allow the British firm to have a state-of-the-art industrial tool. For the 1,100 employees, the move should be completed early in 2007.

Why is Rolls-Royce moving? "The existing factory dates from 1953," a spokesman told Aviation Maintenance. "It celebrated its golden jubilee last year. It came into being originally to service the needs of the RAF during the Korean War. One of the early options under consideration was, indeed, refurbishment of the existing facility. However, it was felt that a more sensible business case was made for relocation to another, new factory on a fresh site within East Kilbride than refurbishment of the existing premises." Another option was relocation to Eastern Europe, Rolls-Royce said in a release.

The new facility is a �45 million investment, �8 million of which are provided by the Scottish Executive as a regional grant. It will get new machinery, "to complement the existing one," said Graeme Waddell, business director at East Kilbride. For example, reducing turnaround time with quicker welding operations will imply buying new equipment. So will improved compressor and turbine blade repair capability. However, "people skills come ahead of material equipment," he added.

According to Waddell, the experience and proficiency of Rolls-Royce employees in East Kilbride are what make the facility special. The relocation option was risky from this point of view. "We could have lost these skills," Waddell said. Seven years ago, new working practices had been implemented. "Early in 1997, we changed from a hierarchic organization to a more direct command and control by setting up a team-working concept," he recalled. In other words, the administrative chart was flattened, and "we took off several layers of management," he said.

These changes were covered by an agreement with trade unions. Now, a new round of negotiations has begun. In the new facility, Rolls-Royce wants to further improve working practices. In fact, the investment is underpinned by agreement to implement these advances. "We are studying two methods, lean manufacturing and tack-time, the latter focusing on eliminating non-valuable time," Waddell explained.

East Kilbride services engines such as the Tay (which was originally designed there), Spey, Pegasus, Adour, Gem, Avon, AE2100, AE3007, and IAE V2500. On the latter, East Kilbride has currently a 20-year agreement with British Airways for its Airbus A320s.

Groundbreaking for the new building is scheduled for July 2005, and it should be fully operational in January 2007. -- By Thierry Dubois