Story ID: 337 GKN
GKN Showcases Technology Edge
By: James Wynbrandt
Caption: Fokker division aims at completion, refurb market.
Word Count: 435
GKN Aerospace (Booth C8942) is here at the NBAA Convention highlighting its aerospace work and key technologies, along with the activities and capabilities of the refocused and newly branded Fokker Techniek completions and refurbishment division. The aerospace offerings on display include the co-cured winglet and CSeries aileron GKN developed for Bombardier’s CS100/300 series, as well as the CSeries electrical wiring interconnection system.

The company is also showing a sample of the empennage it is providing for Dassault’s in-development Falcon 5X, incorporating advanced lightweight thermoplastics in the flight control surfaces. The thermoplastic fuselage panels sharing the spotlight are 15 percent lighter than those using traditional materials, and they have lower production costs and greater fire resistance.

Additive manufacturing (aka 3D printing) is among key technologies on display. GKN claims to have the largest range of flying AM parts, now on seven major programs in the civil, military, rotorcraft and space sectors (A350XWB, NH90 and Ariane), produced via multiple AM technologies - electron beam melting, laser deposition and selective laser sintering.

Meanwhile, GKN’s Fokker Techniek subsidiary is ready to step into the spotlight. “We’re looking to put our name out as a ‘go to’ alternative to traditional, existing completion centers,” said Shaun Collins, chief commercial officer. “We see that as a real growth area, given the skills and talent and resources immediately available that Holland is renowned for.”

Fokker Techniek now has an opportunity to demonstrate those capabilities, as Boeing Business Jets has contracted the company to design and perform the interior completion of a BBJ ordered by the Dutch Government for transport of government officials and the Dutch Royal family. Interior design activities are under way and the aircraft is scheduled for delivery to the Dutch Government in 2019. A two-cabin layout configured for 24 passengers (12 VIP, 12 staff) is planned. Boeing and the Netherlands’ Fokker have worked together on previous BBJ conversion and completion projects. The current state transport, a Fokker 70 (PH-KBX), has been in service for two decades.

Looking ahead at the division’s prospects, Collins said, “The client base is limited; everyone pursues the same opportunities. Perhaps we have a slight advantage in our long heritage in [aircraft] construction and conversions, and we have a competitive edge in South Netherlands in price as well, compared with our major competition in Switzerland and Germany.”

Looking beyond Europe, Collins noted the Asian market “is becoming very active” for preowned executive airliners, creating many potential customers. “Nobody wants to drive around in a ten-year-old Boeing with a ten-year-old interior,” he said.