Volvo Aero Becomes RRSP-Partner With Rolls-Royce in Trent Engine Programs

    STOCKHOLM, Sweden--May 14, 2001--An agreement was signed last Friday in which Volvo Aero becomes a risk and revenue sharing partner in two Rolls-Royce engine programs, the Trent 500 for the Airbus A340-500/-600 and the Trent 900, for the new Airbus A380.
    "This is a very important agreement and a substantial addition to our current product portfolio," comments Fred Bodin, president at Volvo Aero.
    Volvo Aero and Rolls-Royce already have many years of partnership experience in current engine programs such as the Tay and the BR715. The contract signed today will, however, involve the largest cooperation between the two companies to date.
    The Trent 500, which will operate at 53,000-56,000 lb. thrust, has been designed specifically to meet the requirements of the new four-engine Airbus A340-500 and -600 and is also the sole engine for this aircraft, which will enter into service during 2002.
    The Trent 900 has been designed specifically to meet the requirements of the new high-capacity Airbus A380. The engine will have a thrust of 68,000lb. at entry into service in 2006, and will be certificated at 80,000lb, demonstrating its capacity for future growth.
    The Trent 900 will be capable of increases to 84,000 lb. which means that operators will require only one standard of engine to power a fleet containing any A380 variant.
    Volvo Aero's responsibility in the cooperation with Rolls-Royce will cover design, development, manufacture and support for the Intermediate Compressor Case, which is one of the company's specializations.
    The first Trent 500 components from Volvo Aero will be delivered during the first quarter of 2002. Production for the new engines will continue for at least 20 years. The demand for Trent 500 is estimated to be more than 3,000 engines during this period. To date, Trent 900 is the only engine that has been selected for the more than 60 orders placed for the Airbus 380.

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