Story ID: 743 GKN Tech
GKN Confident of Tech Edge
By: Ian Sheppard
Caption: UK tier-one supplier continues to absorb the capabilities gained through acquisition of Fokker last year.
Word Count: 944
GKN Aerospace (Chalet G1) is continuing integration work to take advantage of its acquisition of Fokker last year, while also benefitting from wider group capabilities in the powder metallurgy and automotive sectors. Having grown its turnover from £700 million ($994 million) in 2006 to around £2.5 billion ($3.6 billion) in 2015, both organically and through acquisition, the UK company is now a supplier on a variety of leading aircraft platforms, and hopes to become what it describes as “the most global tier 1 supplier.” Already it has 62 sites in 15 countries, with a total of around 17,000 employees.

The company continues to invest heavily in research in various technologies; much of its focus comes in response to OEM pressure to create lighter, more efficient aircraft and to streamline production processes, removing cost—which has led to greater investment in robotics for manufacturing (and automated inspection/NDT).

Chris Gear, GKN Aerospace chief technology officer, told AIN that OEMs are demanding ever-tighter tolerances in parts and subassemblies, and lower costs, which puts pressure on suppliers to achieve consistent high standards.

Many of the company’s technologies are being used for “growth platforms” such as the Airbus A350XWB, Airbus 777X, F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and various business jets (Global 7000/8000, Falcon 5X) and regional jets (Embraer E2, Mitsubishi MRJ and Bombardier CSeries). This has given it confidence in the future, with it claiming to be number 2 in aerostructures globally and number 3 in electrical wiring systems. The Fokker acquisition has done a lot to boost it up the rankings and “enhance [its] global footprint.”

With the F-35 program, Fokker was involved since 2002, supplying wiring interconnect systems, flaperons, in-flight opening doors, engine parts and arresting gear. GKN was already producing the F-35 cockpit canopy using a new process, which is expected to lead to savings of around $125 million over the life of the program. Now the company can claim a combined $2.5 million of product on every F-35 built.

On the civil side, among its flagship research activities has been involvement in the European-funded Sixth Framework Program Clean Sky II initiative (soon to become FP7 and Clean Sky III), and in particular the BLADE project where GKN manufactured a natural laminar-flow wing cover. This is due to be tested next year on an Airbus A330. Gear said that the stringers are co-bonded on “so the tooling is reversed compared to usual”—this leading to fewer fasteners, and a smoother surface.

“We’re targeting innovation at all levels,” he said—pointing to the 787 leading edge deicing strips that are “sprayed on” by robots, as GKN is looking at how sensors can be built in to detect the ice and thereby reduce the time the system needs to be on, reducing power consumption.

The GKN Group has 56,000 employees in 30 countries (it has 26 locations in the U.S. alone) and is now an £8 billion turnover company—although it can trace its roots back as far as 1759 and ironworks in the Welsh valleys. The name GKN first appeared, however, standing for “Guest, Keen & Nettlefolds.”

Aerospace now accounts for one-third of its activities, with a commercial-military split that is now 75:25. It is even involved in manufacturing for the space industry, producing the rocket nozzles for Ariane 5 (and in future Ariane 6 too) using additive manufacturing.

GKN Aerospace benefits from R&D across the Group; Gear said that he sits on “the Joint Technology Working Group that goes across the GKN divisions.” In additive manufacturing the company has three centers of excellent, based in the UK, Sweden and the U.S.

One technology that is being developed is “blowing” powder onto surfaces to build them up, something that could be applied in modification and repairs, said Gear. “So for worn parts, you could actually build material back onto it.”

Another technology that could end up being applied to aerospace is already commonplace in automotive, GKN producing thousands of gears from power under pressure while aerospace still uses forged/machined gears—Gear believes the time will come in a few years when certification can be gained for similar technology to be used in aerospace applications.

The Group has long been present in developing markets such as China and India and again this is helping the aerospace side to gain better footholds in such domains. “We now have quite a few sites in China—for cost saving. We’re working with various companies there. Within China we have had a big automotive joint venture for 30 years now, and we have an engineering division in India.”

But the real focus remains on high technology to give it a competitive edge. “We spend a lot of time looking at what we think the products [aircraft] of the future will be and where we’ll need to be. Technology gives us that differentiation.” In the UK it works with various universities and cross-industry “catapult centers,” such as the National Composites Centre and Advanced Forming Process Centre, to make sure it remains at the cutting edge, and can continuously propose new technologies to the aerospace OEMS.

Gear also said that the company will need to invest next in ‘Big Data’ and the ‘Internet of Things’—with aircraft components and structures likely to be fitted with more and more sensors in the future, producing mountains of data. “There’s lots we can collect but how do you analyze it, and what does it mean?”

Here at the Farnborough Airshow GKN’s chalet is worth a visit, with the company again including a display of its technology applications in aerospace.