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On the Record with
RON MCKENNA, PRESIDENT, HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND
"When we first looked at Boeing's proposal for 7E7 systems we took
a step back, gulped, and said, ‘Holy Smoke—there's no
way,'" recalls Ron McKenna, president of Hamilton Sundstrand (Hall
4, Stand F9 and Chalet D16-18).
Boeing was riding suppliers hard in its bid to slash 20% from the
market price and cost of ownership of the Dreamliner. It spelled
out just how much it would pay the industry to design and develop
the systems needed for its more electric airplane, one that must
generate and handle four times the electrical power of a 767.
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Key to Hamilton Sundstrand's 7E7 program is a $50 million
electronics systems integration lab with control rooms across
the U.S. in San Diego, Seattle, Rockford and Windsor Locks,
Connecticut. "It's the world's only lab of its kind," company
president Ron McKenna told Show News. "We've already done
a simulated engine start from Seattle; we can fire up the
APU from San Diego or Rockford."
Hamilton Sundstrand started building—and investing in—the
lab seven years ago, and it will be in full operation by the
end of 2005. It provides Boeing with an "iron bird" test rig
for all the systems provided by Hamilton Sundstrand, and can
interface with other systems labs to create a virtual airplane
on the Internet.
"Electronics touches on every other subsystem on the aircraft,
and our lab can connect with all of these," McKenna said.
The 7E7 will be the lab's first full-scale application.
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Hamilton Sundstrand had been invited to bid on four systems for
the 7E7: engine starter/generators, auxiliary power generation (APU),
primary and remote power distribution and switching, and "cabin
comfort"—encompassing everything to do with environmental and
pressure controls for the cabin.
McKenna's team bid on all four, but also presented Boeing with
a fifth, unsolicited proposal to integrate all the systems, saving
weight and cost through simplification, reduction of parts, no duplication
and using as many identical or similar components as possible.
"Next I heard we won the lot!" McKenna told Show News. A
big win had been necessary for Hamilton Sundstrand to afford to
participate on the 7E7, but he hadn't anticipated a victory on this
scale. The business will likely be worth $5.5 billion to the company
if Boeing builds 1,500 aircraft over the next 25 years.
Best of all, the scale of the win and potential for cost reduction
through integration meant Hamilton Sundstrand didn't have to sacrifice
its margins. "It's win-win," said McKenna.
The 7E7 victory validates the vision of "The Aerospace Power Company"
espoused just five years ago when Hamilton Standard merged with
Sundstrand Corp. to form Hamilton Sundstrand. "We felt that eventually
the industry would change and that we could take on a larger role,"
said McKenna. "All we needed was a new platform. Now the 7E7 has
changed our business model for the future."
—John Morris
| Noteworthy |
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"This isn't about winning a fair share, it's about winning
more," says Hamilton Sundstrand president Ron McKenna. "Since
1999 (the merger with Sundstrand) we have had a unified strategy
to pull this off."
His win rate has been "unusually high" since then, he allows,
as Hamilton Sundstrand has driven a strategy to win an increasing
share on each new program through supplying integrated systems
whenever possible instead of components.
Major programs include:
- The Joint Strike Fighter. At $1.8 million per aircraft,
Hamilton Sundstrand's share could provide an estimated $10
billion in F135 engine control, gearbox module and engine
external systems, electric power systems and electronic
controls for flight control actuation.
- Embraer 170/190: Hamilton Sundstrand's most integrated
aircraft to date. It features latest distribution system
technology with computer-controlled solid-state switching
at high power levels, managing power loads by providing
electricity only when needed in various parts of the aircraft
and cabin and saving 5.5 miles of wiring over traditional
systems.
- Airbus A380—worth $3 billion, based on 350
aircraft, for development of the world's largest airliner
air conditioning system, the largest ram air turbine emergency
power generator, the largest control actuator made in Europe
(the 2.9-meter-long jackscrew controls the trim on the horizontal
stabilizer), cabin pressure and cockpit controls, the APU,
the FADEC for the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 and the integral
gearbox for the rival GE/PW Alliance GP7000 engine.
Hamilton Sundstrand expects to see its sales grow to some
$3.8 billion this year from $3.6 billion in 2003, driven by
the recovery in commercial aviation and its industrial business
(which makes up 20% of its portfolio).
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