Boeing names 7E7 suppliers; Goodrich the big winner

By Dominic Gates
Seattle Times aerospace reporter

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Boeing yesterday awarded the final three major supplier contracts for the upcoming 7E7 jet. One Puget Sound unit made the final cut for what senior Boeing vice president Mike Bair described as an "aerospace industry all-star team."

But the local Boeing unit got less than it had hoped for, as did Boeing's plant in Wichita, Kan.

• Boeing's Propulsion Systems Division, based across from Boeing Field on East Marginal Way, will provide engineering support to both 7E7 engine manufacturers, General Electric and Rolls-Royce.

• Boeing Wichita will supply the metallic struts that hold the engines on the wings.

• Goodrich's Aerostructures unit, headquartered in Chula Vista, Calif., will design and build the 7E7's composite nacelles, the outer covering of the engines.

Goodrich estimated the value of its part of the contract as $4 billion, over somewhere between 10 and 20 years. Boeing did not provide comparable figures for the two internal units involved.

The Propulsion Systems Division, which has about 500 employees, will be an integral part of the development phase of the new jet. Its engineers will work closely with the two engine-makers to work out how the two interchangeable engine versions are connected to the rest of the airplane, in terms of both structure and systems.

Still undetermined is who will complete what Boeing calls engine buildup: the final assembly and the integration of system and structural connections during production so that the engine is ready to hang on the wing.

On most current programs, that meticulously detailed work is done by Boeing. On the 7E7 program, which aims for delivery of all-but-completed components, it will probably go instead to the engine makers.

"We do not anticipate doing engine buildup work because it is the model of the 7E7 to minimize detailed final assembly," said Deborah Dustman, spokeswoman for the Boeing propulsion division.

The absence of any reference to engine buildup for the propulsion division in Boeing's announcement disappointed some at PSD. "If they outsource engine buildup, that could mean there wouldn't be that much engineering to do," said one PSD employee who asked not to be identified.

For the 7E7 nacelles and struts contract awards, Boeing Wichita and Goodrich had competed to supply both.

Wichita is the exclusive provider of struts and nacelles on Boeing's most successful programs: the 777 and the 737 Next Generation jets. It also supplies struts and nacelles for the 747, 757 and 767 models that have Pratt & Whitney engines.

Goodrich provides strut or nacelle components for most Boeing jets. It also supplies the same to Airbus jets, including the outer nacelle pod for some A330s, the model that will compete against the 7E7.

In the end, the rivals divided the 7E7 spoils, with Goodrich getting the richer share in winning the nacelles. Goodrich will also supply the thrust reverser, a panel attached to the nacelle that reverses the flow of air when the airplane is braking.

The work will be done in Goodrich's facility near San Diego, which has about 2,500 employees.

Designed for noise reduction, aerodynamics and safety — if an engine turbine blade breaks off during operation, the outer pod has to contain that deadly piece of flying metal — nacelles are technologically advanced and very expensive components.

Paul Gifford, a vice president of investor relations with Goodrich, said that the $4 billion estimate for the contract's value — making it the largest in Goodrich's history — is realistic, based upon the likely production runs and the aftermarket for spares and service.

Jeff Turner, vice president and general manager of Boeing Wichita, a facility the company is shopping around to potential buyers, welcomed the 7E7 strut contract. Wichita had earlier won the cockpit and forward fuselage of the new jet, a very significant chunk of the airplane.

If Boeing sells the Wichita facility, then the only parts of the 7E7 made by Boeing will be the vertical fin of the tail, made in Frederickson, near Tacoma, and various fairings and flaps made by company units in Tulsa, Australia and Canada.

Dominic Gates: 206-464-2963 or dgates@seattletimes.com

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