Evergreen Aviation Technologies Corp. and GE Aviation, a subsidiary of U.S.-based General Electric Co., signed an agreement March 31 to establish a joint factory in Taiwan for maintenance and repair of General Electric Next-generation aircraft engines.
“This will be the only facility in Asia for repairing this engine,” EGAT President Chang Kuo-wei said. According to GE Aviation, the model is its fastest selling jet engine.
Registered capital for the new enterprise, GE Evergreen Engine Services, is NT$500 million (US$16.4 million), but Chang said that EGAT will not hold more than 20 percent of the shares and plans to invest at least US$100 million in the first three years to create a giant facility.
The EGAT-GE partnership dates back to 1998. EGAT has since become a well-respected name in body and engine repair, and the latest venture will deepen the two firms’ relationship, Chang said.
According to David Joyce, president and chief executive officer of GE Aviation, GEnx is the world’s most advanced commercial jet engine, and he welcomes the two companies strengthening their collaborative relations in this sphere. GE will provide the equipment and training for the repair facility later this year, with repair work set to begin in 2015 and full repair service capacity in 2019.
GE’s order book for the engine, which was introduced in 2011 for use on the Boeing 787 and 747-8, logs more than 1,500 orders, the firm said.
According to Chang, EGAT secured the deal with GE ahead of competitors from Singapore and South Korea because of its superior technology and management. EGAT’s development will benefit Taiwan’s manufacturing, he added, because many industries, such as golf club production, have developed out of the aircraft industry. Many household articles are also now made using technology first developed for aviation purposes. (SDH)