For actuation and fuel systems supplier Woodward, a talking point of the Paris air show will be its evolving relationship with key customer GE Aviation, in the form of a joint venture the companies announced in May, that will design, develop, source, supply and service the fuel system for GE’s large commercial engines.
The JV’s remit extends from the GE90, GEnx and GE9X through to all future large GE commercial powerplants.
Woodward chief executive Tom Gendron describes the arrangement as an “evolution of a successful relationship”, which moves beyond the risk- and revenue-sharing partnerships that have become typical in the aerospace industry. The joint venture, he says, was born of a belief on both sides that the way forward is to “work tighter”; it “locks us together” in a way that will share and protect intellectual property.
And, he adds, it reflects and supports a “huge increase” in Woodward content on the 9X compared to the GE90.
Meanwhile, Woodward has been investing heavily in production capacity to be sure it’s in position to deliver a string of new programme commitments, ranging from the Airbus A320neo’s Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-JM engines (fuel nozzles, actuation and oil system components), A330neo and Boeing 777X (thrust reversers) and GE Passport engine (fuel system, actuation and air management, thrust reversers), to Bombardier CSeries (flight deck controls), CFM Leap-1B for Boeing 737 Max (fuel and other systems) and Gulfstream G500 and G600 large cabin business jets (flight deck controls and fuel nozzles and actuators for its P&W PW800 engines).
Some $500 million has gone into what Gendron calls a “recapitalisation of Woodward”, to build two new facilities in the company’s Illinois heartland to meet these demands, says Gendron, and there are still opportunities to win work; the large commercial aircraft supply landscape is pretty much settled for some years to come, he says, but in business jets and rotorcraft programmes there is still much to play for.
And, he adds, the business environment in military aircraft looks positive, too. The military spending downturn, he notes, has already happened, and Woodward is represented on the Lockheed Martin F-35, the Boeing KC-46 aerial tanker and various smart weapons – a very active sector. Broadly, says Gendron, Woodward’s message to investors is that it is “neutral to positive” in a defence segment that represented just over a third of the company’s $1.1 billion aerospace revenue in its year to 30 September 2014.
The company grew dramatically during that fiscal year; revenue was up 18% and profit jumped 28% to $166 million. The improvement, says Gendron, came from market growth and represents the first full year since its acquisition of GE’s thrust reverser activation systems business in 2013.
Coming out of a period when it was important to win new work – especially in large commercial aircraft, as there won’t be many big new programmes up for grabs for the next several years – Woodward is in a good position, reckons Gendron. The company has “significant” new contracts on both narrow- and wide-body airliners and business jets, and has managed a “heavy development phase” on the production side: “We feel real good about our portfolio.”
Source: Flight Daily News
