Tag: facility (Page 2 of 11)

Airbus renews transatlantic fleet with lower emission ships

October 25, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

Toulouse, France, October 25, 2023 – Airbus Group SE (Paris: AIR) will renew the entire fleet of chartered vessels that transport aircraft subassemblies between production facilities in Europe and the United States with three modern, low-emission roll-on/roll-off vessels, supported by wind-assisted propulsion.

Airbus has commissioned shipowner Louis Dreyfus Armateurs to build, own and operate these new, highly efficient vessels that will enter into service from 2026. The new vessels will be powered by a combination of six Flettner rotors – large, rotating cylinders that generate lift thanks to the wind, propelling the ship forward – and two dual-fuel engines running on maritime diesel oil and e-methanol. Additionally, routing software will optimise the vessels’ journey across the Atlantic, maximising wind propulsion and avoiding drag caused by adverse ocean conditions.

The new fleet is expected to reduce average annual transatlantic CO₂ emissions from 68,000 to 33,000 tonnes by 2030. This will contribute to Airbus’ commitment to reduce its overall industrial emissions by up to 63% by the end of the decade – compared to 2015 as baseline year.

Maersk & Kodiak Robotics launch commercial autonomous trucking lane between Houston and Oklahoma City

October 6, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

Florham Park, New Jersey/Mountain View, California — A.P. Moller – Maersk AS (OTC: AMKBY) and Kodiak Robotics, Inc., have launched the first commercial autonomous trucking lane between Houston and Oklahoma City. The freight lane marks an expansion of the collaboration between Kodiak and Maersk, which began with their first autonomous freight deliveries together in November 2022 as part of Maersk’s Global Innovation Center Program. Kodiak has been delivering eight loads per week, with a safety driver behind the wheel, for Maersk customers since August.

Kodiak and Maersk are completing four round trips per week on a 24-hour-a-day, four-day-a-week basis between a Houston facility, where consumer products are loaded onto 53-foot trailers, to a distribution center in Oklahoma City. Operational learnings gained from the activity are captured and documented as part of the Kodiak Partner Deployment Program, which is designed to help companies learn how Kodiak’s self-driving trucks can become an integral part of their overall logistics strategy and offerings.

Autonomous trucking solutions have the potential to address long-term challenges faced by the trucking industry. According to the American Trucking Association, the trucking industry faces a shortage of roughly 78,000 drivers. The ATA estimates that, based on current driver demographic trends, as well as projected growth in freight demand, the shortage could swell to more than 160,000 over the next decade.

Safety continues to be a perennial challenge for the trucking industry as well. U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) research also estimates that 94% of crashes occur due to human error. For Kodiak, safety and performance are foundational to its autonomous trucking solution. Each vehicle is equipped with 18 different sensors, including cameras, radar, and lidar, that provide the platform with a 360-degree view around the truck. Every tenth of a second, the truck evaluates the performance of more than 1,000 safety-critical processes and components in both the self-driving stack and the underlying truck platform. The trucks learn in parallel, with system upgrades shared to the entire fleet simultaneously, and are not subject to environmental distractions.

A.P. Moller – Maersk expands global air freight services with Los Angeles air cargo gateway

October 4, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

Los Angeles, California, October 3, 2023 – A.P. Moller – Maersk A/S A (Copenhagen: MAERSKa) has inaugurated a new 130,000 square foot air freight import/export gateway near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) that offers direct planeside recovery with immediate unit load device (ULD) transfers. The west coast facility complements Maersk’s growing north American network of air cargo gateways, including Atlanta and Chicago which have been stood up in the last 12 months.

The new facility is just 15 miles from LAX and less than nine miles from the Port of Long Beach. Site staffing will be in place for the conduct of customs brokerage, commercial sales, and freight operations such as LCL transload. This site is U.S. Customs bonded Container Freight Station (CFS) and a U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) Certified Cargo Screening Facility (CCSF). This ensures timely and secure air freight handling. The facility is scheduled to attain Free Trade Zone status in 2024 to benefit from lower duties, reduced processing fees, and faster movement of goods.

The opening of the Los Angeles facility is the latest step in Maersk’s North American air freight capacity expansion program that extends across strategic cargo entry points and is aligned to customer demand. The new capacity allows for more supply chain integration opportunities and better scaling to care for seasonal peaks as well as market driven volume spikes for breakout product launches.

LAX is one of the busiest airports in the world for both passenger traffic and cargo handling and is a major gateway between the U.S. and the Asia-Pacific region. According to Los Angeles World Airports, LAX ranks among the top 5 airports in the U.S. by tonnage. Los Angeles is a leading high-technology center for the nation in the entertainment, electronics, biomedical, computers, and aerospace industries.

Air Canada orders 18 Boeing 787-10’s, will fly every model in 787 Dreamliner family

September 25, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

Seattle, Washington, September 25, 2023, PRNewswire – Boeing (NYSE: BA) and Air Canada (Toronto: AC) announced today the carrier is selecting the 787 Dreamliner to further modernize and grow its fleet with an order for 18 787-10 widebody jets, with the option to purchase 12 more. The flag carrier of the country, Air Canada will deploy the new fuel-efficient airplanes as part of its broader strategy to reduce carbon emissions while expanding its global route network.

Reducing fuel use and improving efficiency by up to 25% compared to previous generation jets, the 787 helps advance Air Canada’s ambitious environment goals over the next several decades. The carrier is positioned to optimize its fleet as it adds international routes in new and existing markets, further benefiting from the Dreamliner family’s route flexibility and operating economics.

Air Canada currently operates a fleet of 38 787s, including eight 787-8 and 30 787-9 jets. The largest model in the family, the 787-10, can carry up to 336 passengers with a range of 6,330 nautical miles (11,730 km).

With the selection of the 787 Dreamliner family, Air Canada is supporting economic growth and jobs across the Canadian aviation industry. Canada is among Boeing’s largest international supply bases with more than 550 suppliers. There are more than a dozen Canadian suppliers supporting the 787 program, including Boeing’s aerospace composite manufacturing facility in Winnipeg. Each year, Boeing contributes around $4 billion Canadian dollars in economic benefit to the country while supporting more than 14,000 direct and indirect jobs.

A.P. Moller – Maersk opens doors to new warehouse in Douala, Cameroon

September 23, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

A.P. Moller – Maersk AS (OTC: AMKBY) opens new warehousing & distribution (W&D) facility, spread over 16,000 sq.m. inside the Douala Port zone and powered by a cutting-edge system, will serve mainly the growing demand for FMCG cargo and, potentially, other strategic verticals in Central Africa.

The state-of-the-art facility with modern WMS will provide customers with accurate and real-time visibility of their inventory. Full traceability using lot, batch, and serial numbering will ensure efficient movement of goods. Ultimately, the optimised operations using technology will aid in reducing waste and inventory errors and provide an improved experience to customers.

Maersk has a clear goal of being Net Zero by 2040, and every new investment being made has deep considerations in terms of the decarbonisation of logistics. The new facility by Maersk in Douala is no exception. 100% internal lighting will be done using low-consumption LED lights, and all external lighting will be powered by solar energy. All forklifts required in the W&D operations will be battery-operated and charged using solar energy. At the beginning of operations, 15% of the site’s electricity requirements will be fulfilled by solar panels installed at the site itself, with a plan to scale up in the coming years.

Maersk’s customers will get several benefits by utilising this facility for bonded as well as non-bonded storage and distribution. Bundled with ocean transportation, customs clearances, intermodal transportation and other services, Maersk will provide truly integrated logistics solutions to its customers. Such a solution also adds greater control over supply chains and offers higher resilience. With everything put together, customers will get cost advantages, too, as all their logistics requirements get fulfilled under the same roof.

Joby Aviation selects Dayton, Ohio for first scaled manufacturing facility

September 19, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

Santa Cruz, California and Dayton, Ohio, September 18, 2023 — Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE: JOBY), a company developing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for commercial passenger service, today announced it plans to locate its first scaled aircraft production facility in Dayton, Ohio, the birthplace of aviation.

The Wright Brothers, who invented and flew the first powered aircraft, lived and worked in Dayton and opened the first airplane factory in the United States there in 1910. The city is also home to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and the headquarters of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratories which has played a key role in supporting Joby’s development.

Joby plans to build a facility capable of delivering up to 500 aircraft per year at the Dayton International Airport, supporting up to 2,000 jobs. The 140-acre site it has selected has the potential to support significant further growth over time, providing enough land to build up to two million square feet of manufacturing space. Construction of the scaled Ohio facility is expected to start in 2024 and it is expected to come online in 2025. Joby plans to use existing nearby buildings to begin near-term operations.

The State of Ohio, JobsOhio and local political subdivisions have offered incentives and benefits of up to $325 million to support the development of the facility, while Joby plans to invest up to $500 million as it scales operations at the site. Joby is also announcing today that it has been invited by the U.S. Department of Energy to submit a Part II Application for financing under the Title XVII Loan Guarantee Program, which provides access to low-interest loans for clean energy projects and would support the scaling of the facility.

Joby’s long-term investor, Toyota, who worked with Joby on the design and successful launch of the company’s Pilot Production Line in Marina, California, plans to continue to advise Joby as it prepares for scaled production of its commercial passenger air taxi in Ohio.

Click the link below to watch the Joby aircraft rollout!

Airbus delivers first C295 to India

September 13, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

Seville, Spain, September 13, 2023 – Airbus Group SE (Paris: AIR) Defence and Space has officially handed over in fly-away condition the first of 56 C295 aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF) to begin replacing its ageing Avro 748 fleet.

The C295, in transport configuration and with an indigenous electronic warfare suite, will leave Airbus’ production site in Seville, Spain, for Delhi, India, in the next few days, piloted by a joint IAF and Airbus crew.

The first 16 C295’s of the 56 aircraft on order will be assembled at the San Pablo Sur site in Seville, Spain, with the second aircraft due to be delivered in May 2024 and the next 14 rolled out at a rate of one per month until August 2025.

First C295 ‘Make in India’ in 2026

To boost self-reliance in the defence-manufacturing sector in India, the remaining 40 C295s of the IAF order will be manufactured and assembled – in partnership with Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) – at a Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Vadodara in western India.

The production of components of these aircraft has already started in the Main Constituent Assembly (MCA) facility in Hyderabad, southern India. These parts will be shipped to the Vadovara FAL, which is expected to be operational by November 2024.

The first ‘Make in India’ C295 will roll out of the Vadodara FAL in September 2026 in what will be a milestone for the Indian aerospace industry; the final aircraft expected to be delivered to the IAF by August 2031.

BAE Systems & L3Harris deliver first EC-37B Compass Call aircraft to the U.S. Air Force

September 12, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

BAE Systems PLC (London: BAES) and L3Harris Technologies Inc. (NYSE: LXH) delivered the first of 10 EC-37B Compass Call aircraft to the U.S. Air Force for formal combined developmental and operational testing. The next-generation system evolves the Air Force’s 40-year mission of employing electromagnetic attack (EA) capabilities in support of U.S. and coalition air, surface, and special operations forces.

Mission system prime BAE Systems produces the Compass Call Airborne Electromagnetic Attack mission system at its Hudson, New Hampshire facility. The system disrupts enemy communications, radars and navigation systems, and suppresses enemy air defenses by preventing the transmission of essential information between adversaries, weapon systems and command-and-control networks.

Platform integration prime L3Harris integrated the EC-130H Compass Call mission system into a modern Gulfstream G550 business jet at its Waco, Texas aircraft missionization center. The EC-37B has increased speed, endurance and high-altitude operation for improved survivability and range to deliver EA effects.

Lockheed Martin unveils Slovakia’s first F-16 block 70 aircraft

September 10, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

Greenville, South Carolina, September 7, 2023 – The first F-16 Block 70 aircraft for the Slovak Republic was unveiled at Lockheed Martin’s (NYSE: LMT) facility in Greenville, South Carolina, during a visit from the country’s Minister of Defence, Martin Sklenar.

The Slovak Republic will be the first European country to receive this newest and most capable version of the Fighting Falcon. The F-16 Block 70 aircraft will deliver decades of 21st Century Security capabilities in support of the Slovak Republic’s national security.

This F-16 Block 70 jet is the first of 14 to be delivered to the Slovak Republic.

Rolls-Royce to complete initial F130 engine testing for B-52J by year end

September 7, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

Rolls-Royce (OTC: RYCEY) today announced that it is on track to complete initial F130 engine testing for the United States Air Force B-52J Stratofortress by the end of the year. Continued Rapid Twin Pod Tests at NASA Stennis Space Center in Mississippi have accomplished all of Rolls-Royce’s initial goals and allowed for the gathering of unprecedented amounts of data early in the program, further de-risking the integration of the F130 engine onto the B-52J.

In September 2021, Rolls-Royce F130 engines were selected by the Air Force to replace the existing powerplants in the B-52 fleet, with over 600 new engine deliveries expected. The new engines will extend the life of the B-52 aircraft for 30 years and are so durable they are expected to remain on wing for the remainder of the aircraft life.

F130 engines will be manufactured, assembled and tested at Rolls-Royce facilities in Indianapolis, the company’s largest production facility in the U.S. The F130 is derived from the Rolls-Royce BR family of commercial engines, with over 30 million hours of operation and a high reliability rate. It’s a proven, dependable engine with a fuel-efficient design.

Archives