Rolls Royce set to supply plane engines

Nov 16 2009 By Rob Pattinson, The Journal

JOB security for hundreds of North East engineering staff was welcomed yesterday as Rolls Royce unveiled a £1.2bn boost to its order book.

The company, which employs 600 workers across the region, announced they had agreed to supply new engines for both Air China and Ethiopian Airlines fleets, at the Dubai Air Show.

While the manufacturing is not set to take place at either their Newcastle or Sunderland sites, a spokesperson for the firm said the "stability" and "security" the deals bring would benefit both locations.

The bulk of the work is expected to take place at Rolls Royce’s Derby plant, but the company hopes as the popularity of its new technologies spreads to sectors based in the North East more work can be secured for those sites. The firm currently employs 400 workers at its Pallion plant, Sunderland, and 200 at its Scotswood Road site in Newcastle.

A spokesperson said: "There is of course a benefit to the Rolls Royce group as a whole, which includes these sites.

"The technology we see coming out of the aerospace sector is something we hope to see cross over into other parts of the Rolls Royce family.

"When you have this sort of success with your orders it can only help to secure the company. It’s all about stability." Air China, the national flag carrier of China with a fleet of 243 aircraft, has placed an order for the company’s Trent 700 engines to power 20 Airbus A330 aircraft being delivered from 2011.