Pratt & Whitney investing $275M, overhauling Quebec facilities
by Canadian Manufacturing Daily Staff
Includes plans for $80-million Centre of Excellence for Intelligent Manufacturing in suburban Montreal
LONGUEUIL, Que.—Quebec-based aerospace firm Pratt & Whitney Canada has announced a five-year investment of $275-million to overhaul its Montreal-area manufacturing facilities.
According to Pratt & Whitney, the investment in its Longueuil, Que., location in suburban Montreal includes plans for a new Centre of Excellence for Intelligent Manufacturing (CEIM), an $80-million manufacturing hub dedicated to making complex components for the company’s next generation of PurePower engines.
The CEIM will house three new intelligent production lines to make the components for the PurePower family of engines that power commercial aircraft, including Bombardier’s CSeries lineup.
“The announcement of this project is great news, as it will propel P&WC into the future,” Pratt & Whitney Canada president John Saabas said in a release announcing the funding Saabas.
“These investments once again demonstrate our long-standing approach to innovation and productivity, as well as our ongoing efforts to improve our technologies and modernize our infrastructure.”
According to Benoit Beaudoin, the company’s vice-president of operations, the intelligent production lines will be equipped with a host of automationm closed-loop process control and precision machining technologies.
The company said the launch of its CEIM at its Longeuil, Que., plant, “will require extensive upgrading,” of existing facilities.
The investment will also see further development of its traditional manufacturing, assembly and testing processes in Quebec.
The provincial government is contributing $19-million to the projects.
Construction is set to begin in the next few months, with a target in-service date of 2015.
According to Pratt & Whitney, the investment will lead to the creation of 90 new permanent jobs.
