GKN Aerospace believes new contracts to manufacture composite winglets for the Boeing 767 and 737 airliners could be worth more than $100m, according to ceo Marcus Bryson.
The UK company has been chosen by Aviation Partners Boeing to make the fuel-saving vertical winglets, with American Airlines as the first customer.
GKN Aerospace, a world leader in many composite aerospace components and larger items, is responsible for the design, development and manufacture of the 3.4m-tall 767-300 blended winglets for which the first deliveries begin in Q4 next year.
Winglets are estimated to offer a 6% fuel saving and by 2010 will have saved airlines over 2 billion gallons of fuel, GKN Aerospace estimates. They are either fitted to new aircraft or retrofitted to existing models.
The UK company, whose $1.6bn turnover is divided 50/50 between metal and composites, is enjoying 15% growth rates in its lightweight composites business with a series of successful technical advances and contracts. According to Bryson, business successes last year across the company, including the metals side, will be worth over $1bn.
Its composite structures, for which the Isle of Wight is an important development and manufacturing centre with over £20m invested recently, feature on top selling planes including the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the Airbus A380.
From a ratio of just 1% on the original A300, composites have advanced to a 65% figure on the Boeing 787, Bryson told PRW.com this morning.
