Sigma Components is investing £650,000 in a new manufacturing facility in Chengdu, China, creating additional capacity for its rigid pipe manufacturing programme for Rolls-Royce's XWB engine, in particular.

This significant capital expenditure comes quickly after Sigma's recent change of ownership earlier this year and will provide capacity for both existing programmes and expected growth over the coming years.

Mark Johnson, founder and CEO of Sigma Components, said: “The XWB programme has been very successful and, following an operational review, it became clear that additional capacity would be needed to meet growing demand.

“Following the acquisition of Rolls-Royce's Nuneaton pipe business earlier this year, as the build volumes for A350 grow, we are taking this step now to ensure we are able to offer capacity growth to all of our customers from our Chengdu facility.

“The new 4,000 m2 facility will add completely new duplicated capability and will operate under the same management and approvals as our existing facilities. This increases our total footprint in Chengdu to 7,000 m2 complimented by another 5,500 m2 at out facility in Xi'an. This will ensure that we continue to provide a seamless service of our existing capability to our customers.”