GE Adds Revenue-Sharing Participants for the New GEnx Jet Engine

EVENDALE, Ohio -- General Electric Company has reached agreement in principle with two international aerospace companies to become revenue-sharing participants (RSPs) on GE's new GEnx jet engine. 

Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries (IHI) of Japan, and Avio SpA. of Italy will be responsible for the design and manufacture of approximately 27 percent of the GEnx engine program, which is initially targeted for the Boeing 7E7 application. 

Headquartered in Tokyo, IHI will assume responsibility in the low-pressure turbine, as well as several of the stages of compressor airfoils. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) of Japan will work with IHI on some of these parts. 

Avio SpA. of Turin, Italy will assume overall responsibility for the engine gearboxes and responsibility in the low-pressure turbine. 

Negotiations are underway with other aerospace companies including Snecma Moteurs of France as potential RSPs. 

"We are very pleased to have IHI and Avio, join the GEnx team," said Tom Brisken, general manager of the GEnx engine program. "The overall enthusiasm for this new engine program is extremely high." 

The GEnx development team this year is continuing to refine the engine design with the goal of launching a final design in early 2005. 

The Boeing Company earlier this year selected the GEnx engine for its new 7E7 Dreamliner aircraft. Based on GE's fuel-efficient engine architecture pioneered by the GE90 engine, the GEnx engine is being designed to meet or exceed Boeing's aggressive performance targets for its new twin-engine 7E7. 

GEnx is the next-generation of the engine technology to succeed GE's CF6 series, the best-selling engine family for widebody aircraft. The GEnx engine will produce 55,000 to 70,000 pounds (245 to 311 kN) of thrust for the 7E7. The first full engine will go to test in 2006, followed by the first flight tests, with engine certification scheduled for 2007. 

GE Transportation - Aircraft Engines, a part of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE), is one of the world's leading manufacturers of jet engines for civil and military aircraft.