Rolls-Royce, the aero-engine company, said yesterday it has selected its plant in East Kilbride for the repair and overhaul of the BR710 engines used in corporate and regional aircraft.
Rolls-Royce, the aero-engine company, said yesterday it has selected its plant in East Kilbride for the repair and overhaul of the BR710 engines used in corporate and regional aircraft.
The engine is also due to enter service with Royal Air Force Nimrod long-range patrol aircraft in 2010.
The company said it will invest £4.5m in the project with a further £845,000 coming in the form of a Regional Selective Assistance grant from the Scottish Government and £608,000 from Scottish Enterprise Lanarkshire under the Training Plus initiative.
Rolls-Royce also said it will refurbish an existing engine test-bed at East Rogerton in East Kilbride at a cost of £2m.
A spokesman for the engine maker, which employs about 2750 people at its Scottish factories, said the deal "will progressively create 86 new jobs over the next five years whilst safeguarding a further 43 positions".
Rolls-Royce said it plans to train the staff who will work on the BR710 project at the company's facility in the Canadian city of Montreal.
The first engine will be serviced at East Kilbride in September of this year. The programme will continue at the rate of 40 engines a year for the first five years, with growth expected thereafter.
The BR710 engine type, which is the cleanest and most fuel-efficient in its class, powers the Gulfstream 500/550 and Canadian-built Bombardier Global Express aircraft.
It will power the Nimrod MRA4, the RAF's latest generation reconnaissance aircraft that is expected to enter service at the end of the decade.
Graeme Waddell, business director at the Rolls-Royce repair and overhaul facility at East Kilbride, said: "There are currently over 1100 BR710 commercial engines in service and that number is forecast to increase at the rate of over 170 engines each year.
"This growth in the market includes a significantly increasing number of European and Middle East customers. East Kilbride will be well placed to support this growing and changing customer base."
He added: "This work has been won in the face of stiff competition. It's a further indication of the company's continued commitment to Scotland and to East Kilbride, where we have had a significant presence for over 50 years."
Enterprise Minister Jim Mather applauded the company's decision to invest in the East Kilbride plant. He said: "The planned creation and safeguarding of around 130 jobs at Rolls-Royce East Kilbride is a welcome boost for the area's economy ... I very much hope that today's announcement will help Rolls-Royce continue to build on its success at East Kilbride."
The company said the five-year training programme will help develop the technical skills of employees to strengthen East Kilbride's position as a centre of excellence for maintenance, repair and overhaul.
Rolls-Royce has been operating in Scotland for more than 60 years and in East Kilbride since 1953.
Shares in Rolls-Royce rose 1.5p to 408p in yesterday's London dealing.
