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President Obama Visits Rolls-Royce Crosspointe Facility in Virginia

Dépèche transmise le 9 mars 2012 par Business Wire

President Obama Visits Rolls-Royce Crosspointe Facility in Virginia

PRINCE GEORGE COUNTY, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company, is proud to host President Obama today at its Crosspointe facility in Virginia.

“At Crosspointe, and at our facilities across the United States, we believe that American workers can innovate and compete in the global marketplace”

Crosspointe is a hub of advanced manufacturing and innovation that demonstrates collaboration can spur American jobs and competitiveness. Today, workers at Crosspointe are making precision-engineered engine discs for some of the most sophisticated aircraft in the world, including the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, one of the most efficient airliners in service today.

The engine-disc facility is just the first of many facilities expected to be located on Crosspointe’s 1,000 acres, which will house industry partners, suppliers and research teams all on one campus.

“At Crosspointe, and at our facilities across the United States, we believe that American workers can innovate and compete in the global marketplace,” said James M. Guyette, Rolls-Royce North America Chairman, President & CEO. “Crosspointe is the kind of broad-based, public-private partnership that President Obama and other leaders in government and industry have called for as the key to American competitiveness.”

“This is about having a well-educated, well-trained workforce using the most modern of tools to produce highly advanced products in a very competitive way,” Guyette continued. “Crosspointe has proven that America can compete in advanced manufacturing.”

With more than 40,000 employees in over 50 countries, Rolls-Royce is an industry leader in civil aerospace, defense aerospace, marine and energy. Rolls-Royce has operated in the United States for more than a century, and just last year began a proud new chapter in its history with the opening of the Crosspointe facility outside of Richmond, Va.

Rolls-Royce already has created 150 new high-tech manufacturing jobs at Crosspointe, with up to 140 additional jobs to come at a new Advanced Blade Machining Facility. The global company has invested $170 million at Crosspointe and continues to invest for future growth. Total investment by Rolls-Royce and its suppliers will exceed $500 million, with the creation of more than 600 highly skilled jobs in Virginia. In all of its various facilities, Rolls-Royce employs more than 7,700 people across the United States.

“These are advanced manufacturing jobs which require high skill levels and really contribute to the economic vitality of a community,” Guyette said.

Rolls-Royce invested $1.4 billion globally in research and development last year, and with a mixture of manufacturing and research facilities Crosspointe is fast becoming an advanced manufacturing innovation zone. Rolls-Royce is working closely with Virginia’s top colleges and universities to conduct research, to find new ways to apply that research in manufacturing processes and to train workers for employment in advanced manufacturing.

A cornerstone of that innovation at Crosspointe is the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing, or CCAM, a collaborative research center. Rolls-Royce helped found CCAM, which is a partnership among technology-based manufacturing companies from around the globe and educational partners including the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, Virginia State University and others. The intense competition of the global economy requires new technologies and manufacturing processes. CCAM provides a place for researchers and industry partners to collaborate on the innovative technologies of tomorrow.

“We’re honored that President Obama has recognized Crosspointe as a hub of innovation,” Guyette said.

Crosspointe also will become a pipeline for talent, helping engineers and skilled workers from participating colleges and universities find employment at Crosspointe facilities and related companies.

Notes to Editors:

1. Rolls-Royce is a world-leading provider of power systems and services for use on land, at sea and in the air, and has established a strong position in global markets - civil aerospace, defense aerospace, marine and energy.

2. As a result of this strategy, Rolls-Royce has a broad customer base comprising more than 500 airlines, 4,000 corporate and utility aircraft and helicopter operators, 160 armed forces, more than 4,000 marine customers, including 70 navies, and energy customers in more than 80 countries.

3. Annual underlying revenues were $17.5 billion* in 2011, of which more than half came from the sale of aftermarket services. The firm and announced order book stood at $96.4 billion* at December 31, 2011, showing future growth.

4. Rolls-Royce employs 40,400 skilled people in offices, manufacturing and service facilities in over 50 countries. Over 11,000 of these employees are engineers.

5. In 2011, Rolls-Royce invested $1.4 billion* on research and development, two thirds of which had the objective of further improving the environmental performance of its products, in particular reducing emissions.

6. Rolls-Royce supports a global network of 28 University Technology Centers, which connect the company’s engineers with the forefront of scientific research.

7. The Group has a strong commitment to apprentice and graduate recruitment and to further developing employee skills.

8. In North America, Rolls-Royce employs more than 9,300 people in 66 locations including six Canadian provinces. In the United States, Rolls-Royce employs more than 7,700 people in 26 states.

9. Rolls-Royce operates 15 manufacturing, assembly or test facilities in 10 states including California, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

* USA currency exchange rate: £1= $1.55

**James M. Guyette, Rolls-Royce North America Chairman, President & CEO, will be available for media interviews immediately following the President’s visit.