Singapore Aero Engine Services (SAESL) on Wednesday signed memoranda of understanding that will support a $180 million, 50,000-square-meter (538,000 sq ft) expansion that will increase its capacity by 40 percent and generate 500 jobs over the next five years.
SAESL CEO Simon Middlebrough called the expansion the most significant step forward for the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) joint venture between Rolls-Royce and SIA Engineering since the organization was founded in 1999. “Opportunities like this come along only once in a generation," he said. "Today this sets us on a fabulous trajectory for success.”
The memoranda of understanding that SAESL signed with the Singapore Economic Development Board and JTC Corporation are two of multiple such agreements planned for this week to support the expansion. Singapore's Employment and Employability Institute and NTUC Learning Hub also signed on to support the talent pipeline.
SAESL noted that demand for MRO services is expected to grow significantly in the coming years, with the Asia-Pacific region anticipated to account for one-third of total global demand this year, a growth of 2 to 3 percent.
The additions will include a new 280,000-sq-ft facility at JTC’s Loyang estate next to its current SAESL campus at Calshot Road, as well as an expansion into the Rolls-Royce campus at Seletar Aerospace Park. Additionally, SAESL’s existing facilities, consisting of five buildings, will undergo upgrades and be reconfigured to accommodate increased production capacity.
The Calshot Road facility will concentrate on engine inductions using the latest logistics solutions to optimize engine parts management. The Seletar campus expansion will focus on large component repair, commodity centers of excellence, and low-pressure repair.
As part of its efforts to build on capabilities, SAESL is further establishing an advanced repair cell that will center on additive remanufacturing, adaptive machining, and non-contact measurement systems. SAESL said it will become a central part of Roll-Royce’s MRO efforts to industrialize additive and adaptive repairs.
Also along the lines of productivity improvements, SAESL will focus on its Smart Manufacturing Joint Lab, a partnership with Rolls-Royce and the Agency for Science, Technology, and Research. The joint effort involves exploring capabilities in machine learning, automation, and visual recognition.