MONTREAL (CP) — Pratt & Whitney Canada expects to create hundreds of jobs across Canada after winning the largest contract in its history to supply a new generation of lower-emission, more powerful jet engines for Cessna's largest business aircraft, the company said Wednesday.
''This is the biggest contract that we have ever signed at Pratt & Whitney Canada, so it's a big deal,'' president Alain Bellemare said in an interview
The value of the Cessna deal wasn't disclosed, but Pratt & Whitney said it ''represents a multibillion-dollar opportunity for us in potential orders'' over the life of the program that could span 25 to 30 years.
The PW810 engine model to be used in the new Cessna Citation Columbus exceeds international standards for nitrous oxide emissions by up to 50 per cent and for carbon monoxide emissions by up to 35 per cent, Pratt & Whitney said.
Hundreds of jobs are expected to be created in Canada. A four-year development phase will be divided between facilities in Mississauga, Ont., and Longueuil, Que. Manufacturing of the engines will be split between Halifax and Longueuil.
No decision has yet been made about the engine's assembly. It will be done at one of three Canadian sites in Lethbridge, Alta, Mississauga or Longueuil.
Camille Larochelle, president of the Canadian Auto Workers Union local at Pratt, wasn't aware of the deal but called it an interesting announcement.
''It's a good sign,'' Larochelle said in an interview.
Pratt & Whitney Canada employs 7,300 people across Canada building engines and gas turbines.
The company has committed to spend $500 million on research and development over four or five years.
It has already spent hundreds of millions of dollars over the past decade trying to bridge the gap between the power of engines produced by the company's Canadian and American operations.
''So it's a big deal in terms of staying at the leading edge of technology in Canada, which is really where we want to be on a global scale, but it's the maintaining and creating jobs for the long run, which is absolutely critical,'' said Bellemare.
The Canadian division was better suited than its U.S. cousin because of its expertise in servicing the business aircraft market, he added.
''We know the customer base and honestly it's a natural evolution for Pratt & Whitney Canada. We do have the technology in Canada that we have developed over time.''
The technology could eventually be used to supply engines to other business and regional aircraft, including those not yet in production by Montreal manufacturer Bombardier.
The company recently launched a new Learjet 85, which is smaller than the new Cessna. The Citation Columbus will most likely compete with the Bombardier Challenger 605, said analyst Cameron Doerksen of Versant Partners.
Pratt's U.S. operations have been named as the supplier of much larger engines for Bombardier's possible CSeries aircraft.
''Based on a very rigorous and competitive selection process involving a number of engine suppliers, we are convinced that Pratt & Whitney Canada offers the best solution for our large-cabin Citation business jet,'' Jack Pelton, Cessna's chairman, president and chief executive, said in a statement.
Pratt & Whitney Canada is a United Technologies company. Cessna Aircraft Co. is a subsidiary of Textron Inc.
The eight- to 10-passenger Citation Columbus is designed for intercontinental travel, with a target range of more than 7,400 kilometres. The list price in 2008 is US$27 million.
Rockwell Collins will supply its avionics system, and Spirit AeroSystems, the former manufacturing operation of Boeing that is now controlled by Toronto-based Onex Corp., has reached an agreement in principle to produce the fuselage and tail assembly.
