[Report] Airbus Passenger Planes and Air Force Fighters Can't Operate Without 'This'... Visiting Hanwha's US Engine Parts Factory

HAU Produces Over 100 Types of Aircraft Parts
Strict Security with White Cloths Throughout the Factory
Achieving 2.9 Trillion KRW in Sales by 2032
"Significant Role in Developing Korea's Independent Aircraft Engine"

Hanwha Aerospace USA (HAU) Cheshire facility, located about a two-hour drive northeast from John F. Kennedy (JFK) International Airport in New York, USA. This facility in Connecticut is adorned with orange Hanwha logos and signs reading ‘Hanwha Aerospace USA’ installed throughout the site.

Hanwha Aerospace established its US subsidiary here after acquiring American aircraft engine parts company EDAC in September 2019. Including the Cheshire facility and nearby locations in Newington, East Windsor, and Glastonbury, the company operates a total of four facilities. Over 130 aircraft engine and engine parts companies are clustered near HAU, an area known as Connecticut’s 'Aerospace Alley.'

HAU produces about 100 types out of 6,000 varieties of 20,000 to 40,000 parts needed for aircraft engines, employing approximately 550 local staff. Last year’s sales reached 252.1 billion KRW, marking an all-time high and about a 20% increase compared to 2019 when the subsidiary was launched.

On the 25th of last month (local time), an HAU employee was machining a case, one of the aircraft engine parts, at the Hanwha Aerospace U.S. subsidiary (HAU) Cheshire plant in Connecticut, USA. The case serves as a frame that encloses other rotating parts during engine operation.
[Photo by Hanwha Aerospace]

Aircraft engine structures are broadly divided into rotating and stationary components. The Cheshire facility manufactures stationary components, producing small to medium-sized stationary parts such as engine cases and jigs and fixtures used in engine assembly. Originally, this site was a major maintenance plant for large engines of Pratt & Whitney, one of the three leading aircraft engine manufacturers alongside General Electric (GE) in the US and Rolls-Royce in the UK. EDAC acquired it in 2012.

On the 25th of last month (local time), upon entering the 26,000㎡ (approximately 80,000 pyeong) factory at the Cheshire facility wearing safety glasses, white curtains obscuring the work areas were visible in several places. When asked if these were installed due to the press visit, a Hanwha Aerospace representative said, “This is the usual state,” adding, “Even on-site employees don’t know about work other than their own.” Security was tight as various parts ordered from different global engine manufacturers are produced in one factory.

Hanwha Aerospace USA Corporation (HAU) Cheshire Facility, Connecticut, USA
[Photo by Hanwha Aerospace]

The parts made here are used in major commercial aircraft engines such as the Airbus A220 and A320, as well as in air force fighter jet engines. Nate Minami, HAU’s site manager met on-site, stated, “Parts made by Hanwha Aerospace USA are installed in almost all commercial aircraft currently in operation.” The sales ratio between military (Korea and USA) and commercial sectors is 50% each.

The Newington facility, about a 20-minute drive from Cheshire, produces rotating components. These include discs (rotating circular parts), blades (rotating wings), and integrally bladed rotors (IBR), which are discs and blades manufactured as a single unit. Rotating components are core parts of the engine, responsible for compressing air drawn in by the fan and sending it to the combustion chamber. Because any malfunction in rotating components during flight can lead to serious accidents, they are much more difficult and complex to manufacture than stationary components.

Hanwha Aerospace America (HAU) Newington Facility, Connecticut, USA
[Photo by Hanwha Aerospace]

Kim Jong-hoon, head of HAU’s Global Engineering Team, said, “Although we started the aircraft engine parts business in 1978, we have only been receiving orders for rotating components for about 10 years,” adding, “This area is treated sensitively by engine manufacturers due to concerns about technology security.” He continued, “Rotating components need to be replaced after 20,000 to 30,000 flight hours, so demand is higher and profitability is better than for stationary components.”

Aircraft engine parts are generally produced through the process of 'raw material inspection - machining - special processing - final inspection.' The main materials?nickel, titanium, and iron?are cut to the desired shape through lathe and milling processes, followed by plasma coating and non-destructive testing. Heat treatment processes exceeding 1,200 degrees Celsius are also required.

The Newington facility can produce 1,000 discs and 1,400 IBRs annually. To expand production capacity in the future, it plans to invest $6 million (approximately 8.3 billion KRW) for commercial use and $3 million (approximately 4.1 billion KRW) for military use. Park Myung-hwan, head of HAU’s Finance Team, said, “We plan to pursue MRO (maintenance, repair, and overhaul) and engine repair as new business areas,” adding, “The mid-to-long-term goal is to achieve a 70:30 sales ratio between existing and new businesses.”

Location of Hanwha Aerospace USA Corporation (HAU) facilities in Connecticut, USA. From top to bottom: East Windsor facility, Glastonbury facility, Newington facility, Cheshire facility. Along Route 91 in Connecticut, over 130 aircraft engine manufacturers are concentrated. The thick blue line represents Route 91. [Image source=Google Maps]

Hanwha Aerospace has advanced in the aircraft engine industry structure to the stage of international joint development (RSP), which is the step just before engine manufacturing. RSP is a cooperative development program that shares development costs, technical risks, and corresponding profits. In 2015, Hanwha signed an RSP contract with Pratt & Whitney and has been recognized for its aircraft engine technology alongside Germany’s MTU and the UK’s GKN.

On this day, Hanwha Aerospace announced its goal to actively promote the global engine parts business centered on HAU and achieve annual sales of 2.9 trillion KRW by 2032. Hanwha Aerospace plans to expand its business at global production bases including Connecticut, where major customers are located; Hanoi, Vietnam, which has cost competitiveness; and Changwon, Gyeongnam, which has internalized technology through 45 years of engine and engine parts production experience, thereby securing independent engine technology development capabilities.

Park, head of the Finance Team, said, “Major customers such as Pratt & Whitney are within a 30-minute drive,” adding, “From raw material procurement to product design and development, everything can be handled here, so HAU will play a significant role in developing a Korean-style independent aircraft engine.”

A model of the F414 engine to be installed in the KF-21 (Boramae), South Korea's first domestically produced fighter jet. Hanwha Aerospace produces the F414 engine at its Changwon Plant 1 using a license from the global aerospace engine company GE Aerospace.
[Photo by Hanwha Aerospace]