GKN Aerospace (Chalet G1) comes to Farnborough content in having achieved “a good set of results” in 2013 as it increased sales by 10 percent to £7.6 billion (around $10 billion). “It was a good year at GKN pretty much across the board–bar land systems,” said Kevin Cummings, CEO of GKN aerospace during a pre-airshow briefing.
“For us in 2013 the big thing was the Volvo integration,” said Cummings. “That’s gone very well…it’s an acquisition we’re very pleased with.” Aerospace now accounts for around 30 percent of GKN’s turnover ($3.5 billion) and represents the largest profit now out of the UK company’s four divisions, reflected Cummings. “It’s gone from last to first.”
Bringing in Volvo Aero has meant GKN is “now number two in engine products outside the primes…we operate in nearly 39 countries so it’s truly a global business.” The GKN aerospace division now has 35 sites in nine countries with 11,700 workers in what is a $3.5 billion annual turnover business–up from around $1 billion 10 years ago, thanks to the acquisition of the Bristol Filton site from Airbus and then Volvo Aero. More recently the company has opened up a new facility in Orangeburg, South Carolina, to work on the HondaJet and expanded its plant in Mexico with new composites and blade machining shops.
However the mainstay of the company’s business is riding on the back of the “supercycle” in narrowbody airliner manufacturing, said Cummings. This, he added, saw Airbus and Boeing deliver 1,274 aircraft in 2013 with up to 35,000 additional aircraft expected to be delivered by 2032–some 40 percent being replacements for older airframes.
GKN also has significant content on the Airbus A350, said Cummings. “We’re looking forward to them ramping up their production rate,” he said, while pointing out that the biggest content per aircraft the company has is the A380, thanks to the Filton acquisition.
Meanwhile in the defense business, Cummings said, “It’s about the platforms you’re on…JSF is becoming the dominant platform.” GKN has around $2.5 million per aircraft so it’s a key program for the company. Cummings is also optimistic about the ramp-up in A400M production.