Goodrich Corp., which has production facilities in Connecticut, says Airbus jetliner builder EADS has chosen it to build parts for the Pratt & Whitney Co. geared turbofan engine that will power the revamped A320 family of narrowbody planes, Reuters reports.
Goodrich said it will design and make the nacelle and thrust reversers for Pratt’s geared turbofan that is an option for the A320neo. The engines on the upgraded planes will offer greater fuel savings.
A Goodrich spokesman said its aerostructures unit based in Chula Vista, Calif., and its actuation systems unit in Wolverhampton, England, will be involved in the work.
Goodrich already supplies the nacelle, an enclosed part of a plane in which the engine is housed or in which cargo or passengers are carried, to the existing Airbus A320.
In Connecticut, Goodrich’s Danbury facility makes electronic intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems, while its West Hartford plant churns out engine-control systems, a spokesman said. It was not immediately clear whether any of the control components will be made in West Hartford.
The engine from Pratt, a unit of United Technologies Corp. in Hartford, got a vote of confidence this week when International Lease Finance Corp, a unit of insurer American International Group, announced it as the choice for 60 of 100 upgraded Airbus A320 family planes it plans to buy.
Last month, Aircelle, a unit of France’s Safran, said it was chosen by Airbus to provide the nacelle system for the CFM International engine that is offered as an option for the A320neo. CFM is a joint venture between Safran’s Snecma and Fairfield-based General Electric Co.
