Located At Stennis Space Center

Rolls-Royce broke ground Friday on its new outdoor jet engine testing facility at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The new facility will be used to test development and prototype jet engines for performance, noise, validation of safety systems and other factors.

Initially, it will test the company's latest Trent engines, the Trent 1000 (below) and Trent 900, being developed for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A380 respectively. Work is expected to begin at the site in the second half of 2007.

The Stennis test center is the first such facility of its kind for Rolls-Royce outside the UK, and the first built from the ground-up in the US. Last year, the company announced its intent to relocate this testing capability from the UK to the US. There are only three such testing facilities in the world.

"Today's groundbreaking underscores our continuing commitment to globalization and to the US," said Mike Ryan, Executive Vice President for Government Business, Rolls-Royce North America. "Rolls-Royce has been in the US for 100 years and we plan to be here for at least 100 more. I can think of no better way to usher in our second century than to conduct this important work on these shores."

In all, Rolls-Royce will spend $42 million on construction and facility upgrades, as well as utilize existing infrastructure at Stennis.

Last year, Rolls-Royce also expanded and upgraded its Naval Marine foundry in Pascagoula, MS.

"We're especially pleased to be back in Mississippi," added Ryan. "We've enjoyed a wonderful relationship with the people of Mississippi for several years now and this new facility only enhances our partnership," added Ryan.

FMI: www.rolls-royce.com