Doncasters wins Rolls Royce Trent 800 contract

Doncasters, the leading global manufacturer of precision components and assemblies for the aerospace industry, has won a contract worth €40m to manufacture low pressure (LP) directionally solidified (DS) investment cast blades for the Rolls-Royce Trent 800® engine.  The Trent 800® is used in the long-range, wide-body and twin-engined Boeing 777 airliner.

The blades will be manufactured at Doncasters' Precision Casting facility in Bochum, Germany, a world class site dedicated to high volume cast superalloy blade and vane airfoils for high-temperature, tight tolerance applications for aerospace and industrial gas turbines.

Over $25m has been invested over recent years to make the site unique in its field in the manufacture of leading edge equiaxed, directionally solidified (DS) and single crystal (SX) castings.  Bochum has its own manufacturing facilities for the production of superalloys and ceramic cores – capabilities include hot isostatic pressing (HIPing), heat treatment and world-leading liquid metal cooling technology (LMC).  As all key manufacturing and supply chain processes are in-house, the site also offers complete supply chain management and the capacity to deliver large volume manufacturing to customers' tight and often changing schedules.

Doncasters Precision Castings – Bochum has a track record with Rolls-Royce, having successfully developed a similar LP DS blade for the Trent 1000® engine.

Eric J. Lewis, CEO of the Doncasters Group, says, "This latest contract with Rolls-Royce represents a milestone in Doncasters' close relationship with the firm and cements the worldwide reputation of our Precision Castings – Bochum site for highly exacting and technically demanding parts.  The site's turnover and production capacity has increased significantly over the last three years and is anticipated to continue growing with an additional €15 million capital investment approved." He continued "Doncasters' new contract with Rolls-Royce is not only evidence of the trust built up between our two companies, but is also symptomatic of more widespread change in the aerospace sector, with engine manufacturers increasingly looking to outsource non-core manufacturing to trusted suppliers such as Doncasters."

Doncasters Precision Castings – Bochum's ability to achieve a quick turnaround from development to full production is also evident from independent customer audits which confirm a 100% track record for on delivery time in full and a 96% record on both product quality and responsiveness.