2016-04-07 10:08 update: 2018-09-27, 04:31
Rzeszów, 06.04.2016. Centrum Badawczo-Rozwojowe otwarto 6 bm. w firmie Pratt & Whitney w Rzeszowie. Centrum przygotowane jest m.in. do testowania nowoczesnych silników lotniczych. (dd/mr) PAP/Darek Delmanowicz PAP © 2016 / Darek Delmanowicz
Aerospace giant Pratt & Whitney has opened a PLN 213 million facility to test advanced aircraft engines in its subsidiary in Rzeszow, south-eastern Poland.
The facility meets the most stringent global standards and makes it possible to pursue cutting-edge research and development in building and assembling aircraft engines, said John Saabas, President of Pratt-Whitney Canada, during the facility's official launch.
According to Marek Darecki, CEO of Pratt & Whitney Rzeszow, the new research and development centre will strengthen the position of the Rzeszow factory as a "leading aerospace company in Central Europe."
Poland's deputy Prime Minister and Development Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who also attended the facility's launch, said he was pleased to see Polish capital and know-how working in tandem with foreign know-how.
Morawiecki also said he was happy to see Pratt & Whitney Rzeszow work with small and medium-sized Polish businesses as well as start-ups that "are increasingly spreading their wings" in the country. He also praised the way in which central and local government authorities work with private businesses in cities such as Rzeszow.
"This kind of cooperation has been known to produce many great things," Morawiecki said.
The new facility was built using funds from the European Union. The total value of the project exceeded PLN 213 million.
Pratt & Whitney Rzeszow, which was until July last year known as WSK PZL-Rzeszow, continues the traditions of PZL Wytwornia Silnikow Nr 2, an aircraft engine maker in Rzeszow established when Poland was still under communism.
Since its inception the company has produced engines and components for aircraft engines. It has been owned by the United Technologies Corporation, of which Pratt & Whitney is part, since it was privatised in 2002. Today Pratt & Whitney Rzeszow has almost 4,000 employees and produces ready-made engines and engine parts for some of the world's most modern passenger and military airplanes. (PAP)
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