UMW Aerospace Sdn. Bhd., a wholly-owned company of the UMW Group, today successfully delivered its first fan case produced at its brand-new manufacturing plant here. The fan case, produced for Rolls-Royce’s Trent 1000 engine, will be delivered to the Roll-Royce engine assembly and test facility at the Seletar Aerospace Park in Singapore. The Trent 1000 engines power the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

The inaugural delivery is a proud milestone in a remarkable journey that began on 12 August 2015 when UMW Aerospace signed a 25+5 year agreement with Rolls-Royce to manufacture and assemble fan cases for Rolls-Royce’s Trent 1000 and Trent 7000 engines. This made UMW Aerospace the first Malaysian company to become a Tier 1 supplier to Rolls-Royce. Subsequently, UMW Aerospace identified 30 acres of UMW land in Serendah, Selangor for the construction of its fan case manufacturing plant. The overall investment included the establishment of a pre-production and technology development centre adjacent to the fan case manufacturing facility. The pre-production facility will allow UMW to further innovate by enhancing and developing new manufacturing processes and automation technologies. The manufacturing plant and the related facilities were completed by UMW Land Sdn. Bhd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of UMW Group, late last year.

The “Flag-off” of the maiden fan case delivery ceremony was officiated by Datuk Ahmad Maslan, Deputy Minister, Ministry of International Trade and Industry Malaysia. Also present at the historic event for the UMW Group were Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman, Group Chairman of UMW Holdings Berhad, Badrul Feisal Abdul Rahim, President & Group CEO, UMW Holdings Berhad, Lee Fromson, Executive Vice President – Compressors, Rolls-Royce, Dr Bicky Bhangu, Regional Director – South East Asia, Pacific and South Korea, Rolls-Royce and other invited guests.

“Today marks a significant milestone for the UMW Group as we demonstrated our capabilities in high value manufacturing. We have successfully delivered the first fan case to Rolls-Royce as scheduled under the long-term contract. The Group, well-known in Malaysia for its automotive and equipment businesses, has now successfully progressed into the aerospace components manufacturing industry. We are very proud of this tremendous achievement which also coincides with UMW’s centenary celebrations this year”, said Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Hamad Kama Piah Che Othman.

Badrul Feisal Abdul Rahim added, “From the time the contract was awarded, we have channelled significant resources towards making this business a success. Being a new player in the aerospace components manufacturing industry, the learning curve was admittedly steep but with the support of our management, staff and our customer Rolls-Royce, we have persevered and achieved our target to deliver the first fan case as scheduled. This is the dawn of a new era for the UMW Group as we explore new opportunities in the high value manufacturing sector. We are also confident that UMW Aerospace’s success will be the catalyst for the development of our industrial land-bank in Serendah. We believe this pioneering endeavour will provide the UMW Group with a strong platform for future expansion and value creation.”