Pratt & Whitney Canada to Invest an Additional $250 Million in R&D

Pratt & Whitney Canada (PWC) will invest an additional $250 million in research and development over the next three years, in the Montreal area, following the Quebec government's decision to provide the company with reimbursable support for R&D.

Premier of Quebec Mr. Jean Charest and Quebec's Minister of Economic Development, Innovation and Export, Mr. Claude Bechard, announced today an investment of $75 million to support P&WC's R&D activities. The investment will be provided and monitored by Investissement Quebec and is repayable from royalties on sales.

"I want to thank the Quebec government on behalf of our 5,000 employees in Quebec, our 1,000 suppliers in Quebec, the hundreds of students and the thousands of Quebec citizens who benefit from the positive spin-offs generated by our company," said Alain M. Bellemare, President of P&WC. "This reimbursable support, combined with our sustained activities in R&D, will further help to maintain high quality aerospace jobs in the Montreal region."

P&WC's additional $250 million R&D investment will be aimed at design validation and integration, as well as improving engine performance, reducing weight, reducing the environmental impacts of both the engine and the manufacturing processes and reducing the cost of ownership.

P&WC invests an average $350 million each year in R&D and is the No. 1 R&D investor in Canada's aerospace sector. Since 1996, P&WC's investments, combined with reimbursable support from the government of Canada, lead to R&D programs totalling $3 billion. These major R&D investments have impacted positively our facilities in Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia and Alberta.

"P&WC has a long legacy of innovation, which has allowed us to achieve numerous technological breakthroughs and become a leader in the highly competitive global aerospace market," noted Mr. Bellemare. "We have certified 45 new engines in the past decade, a benchmark in our industry, and have more than 20 exciting new engine programs currently under way. All of these initiatives generate significant benefits for Canada's aerospace sector and the economy as a whole."

P&WC's primary research and development centres are located in Longueuil and Mississauga, Ont., which employ over 1,500 highly-skilled engineers.

FMI: www.pwc.ca