Columbus Engine Center at the Heart of GTF MRO Execution

Pratt & Whitney’s Columbus Engine Center (CEC) is at the core of PurePower® Geared Turbofan™ maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO). Over the last few years, the engine center has transformed into the GTF MRO powerhouse that it is today, leading the way for a number of GTF MRO network facilities to follow. Pratt & Whitney continues to make significant investments in technology and resources to better support customers and their engines through EngineWise™.

“As the first facility in the world to maintain PW1000G engines, significant investments have been made in the Columbus Engine Center over the last several years to ensure that it has the infrastructure, tooling and trained workforce necessary for success,” said Chris Calio, president, Commercial Engines. “Our mission is to provide unmatched services to Pratt & Whitney’s customers around the world and CEC is doing just that.”

Recent investments in the facility have included new GTF engine facilities to support disassembly, inspection, assembly and test capabilities, a new test facility adjacent to the existing test cell as well as a 200,000-square-foot facility to overhaul GTF engines, expected to open in mid-2018.

In addition to other machinery upgrades, the CEC, together with Columbus Forge, which produces compressor airfoils and nickel and titanium forgings, expects to hire approximately 500 new employees over the next five years to meet increasing business demands.

Through Pratt & Whitney’s EngineWise™ service brand, the engine center, which opened in 1996 to overhaul Pratt & Whitney JT8D engines, currently services both PW1100G-JM and PW1500G engines as well as PW2000, F117 and F100 engines.

“The Columbus Engine Center is well-positioned to provide quality service to our GTF engine customers,” said Joe Sylvestro, vice president, Aftermarket Operations. “The Columbus facility is the company’s engine overhaul center of excellence in North America and draws of years of maintenance experience across a wide variety of engine models.”

“Over the last few years, our facility has transformed significantly to prepare for the historic GTF ramp up and ensure we are able to meet customer demands,” said Tom Bode, general manager, Columbus Engine Center. “It was truly a team effort to set-up GTF MRO capabilities here and we are genuinely excited to work an engine that is transforming aviation.”

In addition to Pratt & Whitney, other GTF MRO providers in the network include MTU Aero Engines, Japanese Aero Engines Corporation and Lufthansa Technik.