President of Pratt & Whitney, Rtx
Search every verified Shane Eddy interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In a 2018 media appearance, Shane Eddy, then Senior Vice President of Operations at Pratt & Whitney, stated that the company was "on track with our ramp" and "well positioned to meet our customer commitments" regarding the Geared Turbofan (GTF) engine program. He noted that Pratt & Whitney had delivered 374 GTF engines the previous year, meeting its stated commitment of 350 to 400 units. Eddy discussed the company's investments in industrialization, including "hundreds of millions of dollars into sites across the U.S., Canada, and Poland," and projected that supplier spending would grow from $4 billion to $8 billion by 2020. Eddy described the integration of advanced manufacturing processes, automation, and digital technology across Pratt & Whitney's factories. He said the company had a "Minimum Viable Product" running in three factories with 70 connected machines, with plans to connect approximately 2,500 machines by the end of 2019 and all 31 factories by around 2021. Eddy characterized the shift in manufacturing skill sets as evolving from operating individual machines to managing "intelligent cells" with automation and digital feedback. He attributed the company's readiness to "a lot of planning and investment" made over previous years.
“As we sit here today we're on track with our ramp and we're very well positioned to meet our customer commitments not only now but well into the future.”
“Billions of dollars are invested to not only invent the geared turbofan family of products but also to industrialize for it, including hundreds of millions of dollars into sites across the U.S., Canada, and Poland.”
“Our supplier spend is growing; we'll do four billion on direct products with suppliers this year and that's going to grow to eight billion by 2020, supported by over thirty billion dollars in long-term agreements.”
“We're integrating advanced manufacturing processes and automation, including semi-automated cells in assembly areas, to improve productivity and quality in our factories.”
“Digital technology is very exciting because we believe it will enable us to drive a step change in productivity in our factories, much like the geared turbofan motors deliver a step change of performance for our customers.”
“We have a Minimum Viable Product running in three of our factories where we've connected 70 machines, and we plan to replicate and deploy that pilot across all thirty-one factories.”
“We're piloting technology to connect with suppliers digitally, tracking on-time starts and working processes to troubleshoot issues much earlier before they occur.”
“We look to have roughly twenty-five hundred machines connected by the end of 2019 and all thirty-one factories connected by around 2021, integrating supplier data to avoid non-value-added work and improve troubleshooting.”
“The skill sets for manufacturing personnel have evolved considerably; today’s technicians manage intelligent cells with automation and digital feedback rather than just operating individual machines.”
“A lot of planning and investment has been made for years to ensure we can take full advantage of the opportunity that the geared turbofan presents and continue delivering the highest quality products on time to our customers.”
Sign in to search the full transcript archive, filter by topic, and access every quote from Shane Eddy.
The summary and quote tags on this profile are produced with AI assistance from verified, first-person interview transcripts, then checked by our team to confirm the speaker's identity and the accuracy of every quote. See how we verify →