Haskell recently completed a new nacelle assembly facility for UTC Aerospace Systems in Foley, Alabama. The primary mission of the new facility will be the assembly of nacelles for a number of aircraft platforms, including the Airbus A320 family of airplanes. The Foley site is part of the company’s Aerostructures business unit.
The new 80,000-square foot advanced manufacturing facility will house the assembly of nacelle components and propulsion system integration, as well as an additional 15,000 SF of office space, and was delivered via design-build.
“Haskell is thrilled to be completing our fourth design-build project for UTC Aerospace Systems and our first in Alabama,” said Kevin McEvoy, Director of Project Development. “Our integrated project approach proved instrumental to the coordination of the various scopes while preserving continuous operations as we worked on the existing Foley campus.”
Expected to be fully operational by year's end, the new building will feature a range of innovative manufacturing technology, including automated material movement to index large nacelle component platforms down the assembly line and an automated painting system. These new advanced manufacturing systems, which have been piloted at other UTC Aerospace Systems' Aerostructures sites around the world, will greatly increase the efficiency of operations required to assemble and paint nacelle systems, and will also provide ergonomic benefits for employees.
In keeping with the company’s green design initiatives and the goal of creating the smallest environmental footprint possible, this project is in the process of being LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified by the U.S. Green Building Council. Some of the features included are 40 percent water use reduction, including the use of rainwater harvesting for reuse in grey-water systems; light pollution reductions; optimization of energy performance; and use of renewable energy.
As the eighth manufacturing building on the Foley campus, the new facility will serve as a complement to the site's existing 230,000-square foot original equipment plant and 210,000-square foot MRO facility. Integrated A320 family propulsion systems will ultimately be delivered from the new facility to the Airbus final assembly line in Mobile, about an hour away, as well as other A320 final assembly lines around the world.
