Since the 1990s, General Electric-Aviation has been able to count on its lineup of midsize and small engines to pay the bills as it took on the gamble of developing an entirely new line of large engines. With orders rolling in for its GE90 and GEnx, it looks like that gamble is beginning to pay off.

GE's factories will experience a more than 65% increase in engine production volume over the next three years. Total output of engines and spares rose 8% last year, will grow another 14% this year, and top that with 22% more in 2008.

GE90 orders began escalating in 2005, when it sold 300 engines, 245 of them the GE90-115Bs. The GE90's previous best year resulted in just 68 orders. But as the 777-300ER gained momentum, and was followed by the 777-200LR and -200F, it was clear how much GE was blessed by Boeing's selection of the -115B as the sole powerplant for those aircraft. With 777 sales remaining strong, GE90 orders have climbed to 1,060, including 720 for the -115B.

But the success of the GEnx, a smaller GE90 derivative, is more spectacular. It has become the best-selling large engine in GE's history, mostly because it has won the biggest share of engine orders in competition with the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 for Boeing's 787. But it's also benefiting from a monopoly position as the powerplant for the 747-8, Boeing's update of the venerable superjumbo. GE now holds 830 GEnx orders from 28 customers at list prices of about $12 million each.

Making big engines pay off has long been a challenge for the industry because their cost of development is high (at least $2 billion each) and the share of the market they occupy is low (about 30% of total sales), even if big airplanes bring higher profit margins. Rolls-Royce has been willing to make the big-engine commitment with its Trent series. Besides winning a berth with the 787, the newest Trents have been widely accepted on Airbus's wide-body fleet.

For Pratt & Whitney, the big-engine gamble simply isn't worth it anymore. When Boeing shifted exclusively to the GE90 for the latest 777s, Pratt & Whitney President Steve Finger saw a long-term market for the PW4000 drift away. He recently gave an upbeat forecast for Pratt's future, but finds it in the balance of combining small-engine sales with an aggressive push into maintenance services. Pratt is all about innovation in cleaner, quieter, more efficient engines--but they'll be for the single-aisle and business jet markets, not for wide-body transports.

GE is benefiting from the strength of regional transport and long-range executive jet sales by Bombardier and Embraer, which are powered by GE's CF34 series--especially the CF34-10 for the Embraer 190/195.

Just last year, the combination of CF34-10, GE90 and GEnx orders accounted for about half of General Electric's workflow. Next year they will account for two-thirds.

All this growth doesn't diminish the long-reigning star of GE's production lines, the CFM56. Given bullish prospects this year and the unprecedented sales for the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 since 2005, CFM International--a partnership between GE and France's Snecma--is experiencing 20% annual growth rates for the series. A new CFM56 is shipped from Evendale every 4 hr., three shifts a day. There will be a backlog of more than 2,000 engines every year through 2009 and a growth forecast of 1,200-1,300 engines per year from 2010-13.

As he shows a visitor the busy CFM56/ CF6 production lines, Operations Manager Brad Brougher remarks that the Evendale factory has added 30 new mechanics this year, its first new hires in 21 years. GE has been handling the ups and downs of production demand since 1986 through improved work processes and recalls of furloughed workers. But its recall pool evaporated. While some worry that aerospace has lost its allure, GE's job offers didn't go begging. After narrowing the initial application pool to about 100 for interviews, the company did behavioral profiles to ensure that those hired will work well in a team environment. And, the new mechanics all held powerplant licenses--not a requirement in the past.