Rolls-Royce marked the official opening of its new £100 million advanced aerospace disc manufacturing facility with a ceremony conducted by Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Business Secretary Vince Cable.

When fully operational in 2016, the 18,000m2 facility in Washington, Tyne and Wear will have the capacity to manufacture 2,500 fan and turbine discs a year. These discs will feature in a wide-range of Trent aero engines including the world’s most efficient aero engine the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB. Fan Discs and Turbine Discs are at the heart of the engine, operating in extreme conditions providing the engine’s thrust.

Tony Wood, Rolls-Royce, President - Aerospace, said: “Rolls-Royce is committed to investing for future growth in order to deliver for our customers. We invested £687 million in facilities and equipment around the world last year. This facility will use ground-breaking manufacturing techniques to produce discs for our Trent engines including the world’s most efficient aero engine, the Trent XWB.”

There are two types of disc manufactured at the Washington plant: fan discs and turbine discs. Located at the front of the engine, the fan disc holds the fan blades. There are typically 20 blades in each engine. They rotate about 2,700 times per minute and move 1.25 tonnes of air per second, the equivalent of the volume of air in a squash court. The fan discs remain in service for over 20 years.