GE Aviation Breaks Ground in Asheville, NC

On Nov. 14, 2013, GE Aviation officials hosted a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the company's new advanced composites factory near Asheville in Western North Carolina.

 

GE Aviation's Sanjay Correa, vice president, ceramic matrix composite (CMC) program and Mike Kauffman, senior executive, composites manufacturing, were joined by Governor Pat McCrory and officials from the Asheville Area Chamber, Buncombe County, City of Asheville and N.C. Department of Commerce to commemorate the groundbreaking.

 

The new 170,000ft² facility will mass produce engine components made of advanced ceramic matrix composite (CMC) materials.

 

GE will begin hiring at the new CMC components plant in 2014. Within 5 years, the workforce at the plant is expected to grow to more than 340 people.

 

The existing workforce at GE Aviation's current machining operation in Asheville will gradually transition to the CMC components plant.

 

The introduction of CMC components into the hot section of GE jet engines represents a significant technology breakthrough for GE and the jet propulsion industry. CMCs are made of silicon carbide ceramic fibers and ceramic resin, manufactured through a highly sophisticated process and further enhanced with proprietary coatings. As part of its continued leadership and commitment to advanced manufacturing, GE plans to introduce more CMC components into future engine development programs.

 

The specific CMC component to be built in the new Asheville, N.C. facility is a high-pressure turbine shroud. More importantly, this CMC component will be on the LEAP jet engine, being developed by CFM International, a joint company of GE and Snecma (SAFRAN) of France and will mark the first time CMCs are used for a commercial application. The LEAP engine, which will enter airline service in 2016, will power the new Airbus A320neo, Boeing 737 MAX, and COMAC (China) C919 aircraft.

 

CFM to date has logged total orders and commitments for more than 5,200 LEAP engines. There will be 18 CMC turbine shrouds in every LEAP engine produced, thus setting the stage for high, long-term production volume at the Asheville plant.

 

Source: GE Aviation