Pratt & Whitney, an RTX business, announced today that it will launch an affiliate, Pratt & Whitney Maroc (PWM), in Casablanca, to manufacture detailed static and structural machined parts for various engine models.
Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines and auxiliary power units. To learn more, visit www.prattwhitney.com. To receive press releases and other news directly, please sign up here.
RTX is the world’s largest aerospace and defense company. Our global team of 180,000 employees pushes the limits of known science and redefines how we connect and protect our world. We are advancing aviation, building smarter defense systems and creating innovations to take us deeper into space. Effective July 1, the company will complete its realignment into three customer-focused business units — Collins Aerospace, Raytheon and Pratt & Whitney. The company, with 2022 sales of $67 billion, is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.
This investment is key to Pratt & Whitney’s strategy to develop cost-effective sourcing capabilities for competitiveness and to optimize operations footprint and asset utilization. Morocco was selected after a global benchmarking exercise due to its growing hub of aerospace companies, cost of business and trained, available talent.
“Morocco offers many benefits for aerospace manufacturing,” said Maria Della Posta, president, Pratt & Whitney Canada. “The growing aerospace community in Casablanca ensures a highly valuable talent pool, a positive economic environment, and the support from Morocco’s government. Pratt & Whitney Maroc, as an independent affiliate, will create 200 jobs by 2030, and we look forward to joining the business community in Casablanca’s MidParc Free Zone.”
“P&W investment in Morocco will strengthen our aerospace ecosystem by fostering innovation, research, and the development of new technologies,” said the representative of the Moroccan Ministry of Investment, Convergence and Evaluation of Public Policies (MICEPP). “It will create job opportunities for our talented youth, foster knowledge transfer, and promote collaboration between local and international stakeholders”.
This 130,000-square-foot new greenfield facility will be built with lean principles and CORE methodology to drive efficiency and quality and reduce costs. This investment is a vital part of the company’s ability to produce engines to meet strong demand and brings Pratt & Whitney closer to its African customer base and partners, which allows it to further support the aerospace growth in this region. Facility construction will begin Q4 2023 to ensure a successful launch in 2025.
In 2008, United Technologies Corp.’s Pratt & Whitney unit said that its F100-PW-229 engine was selected by the Royal Moroccan Air Force to power their new fleet of F-16 block 52 aircraft. The Royal Moroccan Air Force currently operates 23 F-16C/D Block 50/52 aircraft that it received from 2011 to 2012, although it lost one during campaign over Yemen as part of the Saudi-led coalition).
For the past few years, Morocco has been venturing into the aeronautic sector which includes exploring investment initiatives on aerostructures and engine parts, 3D printing, and the manufacture of cabin interiors.
Last year, Morocco and representatives of the Israel Aerospace Industry (IAI) reached a provisional agreement over cooperation in the aerospace sector. Both parties signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) covering the aeronautical sector as part of the implementation of the December 2020 Joint Declaration between Morocco and Israel.
subsequently, Sabca and Sabena Aerospace, part of the Blueberry Group, Belgium, and the Kingdom of Morocco as well as Lockheed Martin recently signed a strategic partnership implementing the Moroccan joint venture Maintenance Aero Maroc (MAM).
The Strategic partnership fosters Belgian Group international development while supporting the sustainment requirements of the Royal Moroccan Air Force and bringing high-tech jobs and technical abilities within the country.
The partnership includes construction of a state-of-the-art 15,000 sqm Maintenance, Repair, Overhaul and Upgrade (MRO&U) center for military aircraft and helicopters at Benslimane Airport and supports the creation of up to 300 jobs.
Maintenance Aero Maroc (MAM) will be the operators of the new facility, providing an industrial benefit to the Belgian Group through continued sustainment opportunities on Lockheed Martin platforms.