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On the Record with
Gilles Ouimet, President & CEO Pratt
& Whitney Canada
 "China
is a key focal point of our Asian approach. It has one of the biggest
economies in the world, and in 10-20 years will be huge."
So says Gilles Ouimet, president and CEO of Pratt & Whitney
Canada, which was active in China some two years before President
Nixon's historic visit to Beijing 30 years ago.
"We've been working in that country for many years,"
Ouimet told Show News, and now it is about to pay off.
The partnership can be seen here at Asian Aerospace in the form
of the 56-seat MA-60 regional turboprop, an FAA-certified development
of the Y7-200A and -B models featuring Pratt & Whitney PW127J
engines. China's first FAA-certified transport, the Twin-Otter lookalike
Y12 is powered by Pratt PT6 turboprops.
Pratt's other China ventures include AVIC II's choice of the PW150
for the four-engine medium transport Y8F-600 being developed and
manufactured by Shaanxi Aircraft Company, an AVIC II subsidiary.
Both Pratt and China believe demand for the aircraft will mushroom
as the country's economy blooms, and especially as it begins to
open up its undeveloped western regions.
In helicopters, P&WC is powering the China Medium Helicopter,
which is in the same class as the 15-passenger utility AB139. Development
engines have already been shipped, according to Ouimet. "This
helicopter will meet an important need in China, and we're bullish
that over time it will be a very good program," he said.
Meanwhile the joint venture between Pratt & Whitney Canada
and China National South Aero-Engine Company (SAEC), China's leading
manufacturer of small gas turbine engines, is moving to full production
at its facility in Zhuzhou, Hunan Province, China. The joint venture,
called South Pratt & Whitney Aero-Engine Company Ltd., manufactures
engine parts for P&WC.
Pratt also powers the 20 Fairchild Dornier 328JET aircraft in
service with Hainan Airlines.
Beyond China, Pratt & Whitney Canada has had a presence in
Singapore and Australia for over 20 years, and now has over 100
staff helping look after engines in the Asia-Pacific region. "Of
our field support reps, close to 25 are in the greater Asia-Pacific
area," said Ouimet. "We are putting an emphasis on this
part of the world, as it will probably experience faster growth
than in the traditional North American/western markets."
By John Morris
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China's proposed ARJ21 regional jet will be
the launch program for the new, geared fan PW800 engine if
Pratt & Whitney Canada has its way.
"It is no secret it is one of our
targets," P&WC president and CEO Gilles Ouimet told
Show News. "We are looking at every opportunity to launch
that engine family with a credible aircraft manufacturer.
I would say we are moving closer to a launch, but I would
not say it is a straight line race to the finishing post."
Pratt's problem is that every new regional
jet under development in the western world is powered by the
GE CF34, so it would have to wait until second-generation
aircraft came along. But it believes it can help China differentiate
its ARJ with what it claims is already a second-generation
engine.
"We have been running a demonstration
program," said Ouimet, "and staying very closely
in touch with potential launch customers." The next phase
is a fully-fledged core technology demonstrator "to position
ourselves for as short a program of development as possible
when we launch the engine," he added.
"There is no question in our minds
the regional market will be substantial over the next couple
of decades at least, and we will be there."
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