Geoff Thomas
BMW Rolls-Royce is to extend its Sino-links by signing a long-term deal with CATIC Supply and Shenyang Engine Manufacturing at Le Bourget today.
The deal - to be signed by BMW Rolls-Royce's operations director Neil Ansell and a representative of CATIC - is believed to involve the Chinese making component parts for the German/British company's BR700 range of aero engines.
A Beijing representative office was set up by BMW Rolls-Royce in 1996, and the company's engineering director, Prof Günther Kappler, is honorary professor at the university of aeronautics and astronautics in the Chinese capital.
Over the past three years, BMW Rolls-Royce has conducted 10 research and development programmes with Chinese universities and research establishments, while several Chinese experts in the fields of aero engine design and development have been involved in important project activities at the company's Dahlewitz facility.
Finally, elements of the BR715 engine's certification have been conducted in China since an agreement with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) was signed in 1998.
The aim of this was to increase contact between the CAAC and BMW Rolls-Royce to facilitate any potential future validation of the engines in China.
Source: Flight Daily News
