GKN Westland has been picked by AlliedSignal as the preferred supplier for nacelles in all applications of the AS900-series engines, the (born) British company said here Tuesday. AlliedSignal had already chosen Westland to supply nacelles for Raytheon's Continental business jet but with this week's news--that Westland would supply all the nacelles for the Avro (British Aerospace) RJX--Westland is clearly taking a leading role in the supply of next-generation propulsion system components.

Westland is attending NBAA to emphasize its strong -- and strengthening -- ties to the U.S. market. Following recent acquisitions the company now has 2,000 employees (nearly a third of its workforce) and six high-tech manufacturing facilities in the U.S.

Westland has a proven track record as a turboprop nacelle supplier and, at one time, only Embraer lay outside its customer base. However, Westland sensed the changes coming to the regional turboprop market and quickly moved to translate its experience into the jet field. Its first such contract came from AlliedSignal to supply nacelles for the TFE731 turbofans found on the Dassault Falcon 50 and Galaxy Astra SPX.

Westland is keen to underline the fact that it is not merely a nacelle builder but also has the capability to provide finished propulsion systems, from basic design and integration, to dressing and podding an engine for fitting.

"In our business it can be hard to see where the aircraft finish and the engines begin," said Westland business development manager Vivian Harrison. "As our background is as part of major airframe company, we know how to work intimately with an aircraft manufacturer and are better placed to meet their needs. We also innovate technology and cross-feed it into other areas. For example the MD-11 flap vanes that we build were developed from helicopter rotor blade technology and the carbon fiber nacelles we supply for the Fairchild Dornier 328 use heat-resistant materials developed for military helicopter IR-suppressors.

"We have a formidable range of engineering-led technologies that are also competitive and can be maintained in service. Our reliability is 'designed in'--it's not a happy coincidence."
Westland is now a global tier one supplier to the world's civil and military aerospace prime contractors and aerospace engine makers. Through its expansion in the U.S. it has acquired a whole new range of nacelle technologies, including materials, thrust-reversers, and manufacturing processes.

"The most important thing to highlight here at NBAA is our growing presence in the United States," Harrison said. "We should not be regarded as a purely British company. Our parent wants us to expand to a $1.5 billion business very quickly, and we are doing that through acquisitions. This is also a sensible way of expanding our product range and our customer base. And we will be getting bigger. More acquisitions are an absolute given. When we come back here next year you can expect us to have grown a whole lot more."