Pratt & Whitney unveiled on Wednesday its upgraded Middletown engine production facility, which it said will play a key role in meeting anticipated demand from both the commercial and defense sectors.
The engine center has a new high-tech assembly line and test cells to support production of its PurePower engine for the Airbus A320neo and its F135 engine for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter.
The upgrades are part of an approximately $400 million investment to expand production capacity in Middletown and at Pratt’s East Hartford headquarters.
Pratt, which thinks production will double by 2020, is investing $1 billion worldwide to prepare for the increased workload.
The new horizontal assembly system in Middletown has vertical lift and rotation capabilities, and can be automated to specific production volume, the company said.
