KUALA LUMPUR: ROLLS-Royce Malaysia Sdn Bhd, which just forged partnership with the UMW Group, is keen to establish more manufacturing alliances with other local aerospace companies.
Rolls-Royce country director Saji Raghavan said Malaysia had a proven track record in achieving aerospace excellence as well as other industries as it has mapped out the National Aerospace Blueprint (2016-2030) and the Economic Transformation Programme Entry Point Project Seven, anchored by the Asia Aerospace City, in which its focus is to facilitate original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Rolls-Royce.
“This is strongly aligned to our priorities as the Asia Aerospace City and Business Consulting Centre, for example, play a key role in ensuring both Rolls-Royce and UMW are able to negotiate the most equitable agreement and provide access to the right human capital to build the factory.”
Rolls-Royce Malaysia, which is a unit of British aero-engine maker Rolls-Royce Ltd, awarded UMW Group a RM830 million contract last month to manufacture and assemble aero engine fan cases.
The 25-year agreement will see UMW M&E Sdn Bhd and subsidiary UMW Aerospace Sdn Bhd making fan cases for Rolls-Royce’s Trent 1000 engines that power the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
The signing of the deal was witnessed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who said the deal showed Rolls-Royce’s confidence in Malaysia’s economic stability and skilled workforce.
Saji said Malaysia was seen as the ideal country to establish a manufacturing partnership as companies such as UMW had the foundation in place to develop and produce components; in this case, fan cases for the Trent 1000 aero engine.
“They have also a strategic relationship with the Asia Aerospace City and Majlis Amanah Rakyat, which gives them access to further human capital and research and technology capabilities.
“To deliver the Trent 1000 aero engines fan cases, technology transfer is essential and we will support them by putting in place a pre-production and technology development centre that will work on future manufacturing technologies to drive competitiveness and increased manufacturing capability such as automation and machining technology,” Saji said.
Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce Asia Pacific regional director Jonathan Asherson said the aviation industry requires manufacturers with strong lean manufacturing competency in order to handle increasing volumes of production.
“At Rolls-Royce, we need to deliver on our £76.5 billion (RM510.26 billion) order book, of which 87 per cent is civil aerospace. While expanding our relationship with current suppliers and partners, we need to look at other companies with capabilities that can be easily adapted to the aerospace industry.”
Saji said Rolls-Royce is always open to continue collaborating with other partners in Malaysia in the future to explore opportunities in its business sectors, which include aerospace, power systems or marine.
“We have a strong track record of collaborations throughout the world and in Malaysia we look forward to the success and growth of UMW in their new field and we look forward to collaborating again with Asia Aerospace City in realising any future opportunities.”