OTTAWA – November 26, 2012 – GE Aviation and StandardAero received the prestigious 2012 Canadian American Business Council (CABC) Achievement Award for their collaboration on the GE Aviation Engine Testing, Research and Development Centre (TRDC) in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The award was presented on November 19 at a special event held at the Ottawa Convention Center.
Judged by an independent team of prominent members of the Canadian and U.S. business and academic communities, the CABC Achievement Award is presented to a partnership between a Canadian company and a U.S. company that meets the following criteria: sustained profitability, job creation, financial strength, environmental responsibility and exceptional innovation. The winning partnership was nominated by the Ohio Department of Development and the Consulate General of Canada in Michigan and competed with dozens of nominations from diverse sectors throughout North America for this one award.
“The judges for this year’s Business Achievement Award were not only impressed by the working partnership between the two companies, but also by the innovative impact their solution has on improving the safety of air travel in North America,” said Jordan Robinson of J.C. Flowers & Co and chair of the 2012 judging panel. “The partnership is a strong example of how two companies have come together to make use of their respective areas of expertise and innovate a technology that will contribute to the industry and the community.”
Emma Rigby, executive director of CABC said, “The CABC is pleased to recognize that, through their joint efforts, GE Aviation and StandardAero have created a high-tech facility and a very successful cross-border alliance that serve as an excellent example of Canadian and American companies making things together.”
The $50 million (USD) TRDC opened in February and capped off a 12-month developmental partnership launched in February 2011 between the two companies. The new 122,500-square-foot facility located at the James A. Richardson International Airport in Winnipeg conducts icing certification testing on GE’s jet engines and develops advanced testing methodologies and equipment for GE Aviation's commercial, business/general aviation and military aircraft engines. Under the 10-year contractual agreement, GE designed and built the new facility, and StandardAero maintains and operates the certification test center which can test gas turbine engines up to 150 inches in diameter and rated up to 150,000 pounds of thrust. In addition, the site can accommodate high performance military engines.
Since its grand opening, the centre tested several engines, including the GEnx engine that powers the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and 747-8 aircraft. This summer, GE invested an additional $2.5 million in the facility to enhance the testing capabilities. GE plans to resume testing on the GEnx engine by year end.
About StandardAero
StandardAero is one of the world’s largest independent providers of services including engine and airframe maintenance, repair and overhaul, engine component repair, engineering services, interior completions and paint applications. StandardAero serves a diverse array of customers in business and general aviation, airline, military, helicopter, components, energy and VIP completions markets. A Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) company, StandardAero provides a global service network of 13 primary facilities in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Singapore and Australia, along with an additional 50 sales and field service locations. The company celebrated its 100th year of industry leadership in 2011. For more information, visit http://www.standardaero.com/
About GE Aviation
GE Aviation, an operating unit of GE (NYSE: GE), is a world-leading provider of jet, turboprop and turboshaft engines, components and integrated systems for commercial, military, business and general aviation aircraft. GE Aviation has a global service network to support these offerings. For more information, visit us at www.geaviation.com. Follow GE Aviation on Twitter at http://twitter.com/GEAviation and YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/GEAviation.
