GLASGOW-based Castle Precision Engineering has won an £80 million contract to supply aero-engine parts to Rolls-Royce – the biggest order in the 67-year history of the Castlemilk company.

The six-year contract is for the supply to Rolls-Royce of compressor cones, shafts, and spacers, and turbine seal plates for the Trent family of aero-engines. It will see Castle Precision, which is owned by the Tiefenbrun family, continue a 35-year relationship with Rolls-Royce.

Managing director Yan Tiefenbrun, the third generation of the family to lead Castle Precision, said: “Across the 40-plus part numbers in the contract, we are touching most of the civil engines in the R-R fleet. However, compared to business won with this customer in the past, 87% of this contract is now on new engine platforms and only 13% in legacy ones – giving us a much longer-term view of the business base load.”

He added: "It is the biggest order in our 67-year history and the whole Castle Precision team is looking forward to furthering our relationship with this key customer, continuing to supply precision machined, critical rotatives.”

Mr Tiefenbrun highlighted the fact that the contract would be undertaken at Castle Precision’s Scottish manufacturing base. It will be fulfilled by the existing workforce.

The company employs 120 people.

Mr Tiefenbrun said: “The new contract will be delivered from our manufacturing base in Scotland. Through investment, operational efficiencies, existing headcount and apprentices already in the training system, we will be able to deliver this contract without additional recruitment for this package.”

Castle Precision, flagging the “globally competitive environment”, highlighted support from the Sharing in Growth UK programme and Scottish Enterprise.

Mr Tiefenbrun said: “With the support of Sharing in Growth UK, we’ve been changing our entire approach to rigorous leadership and engagement of our whole workforce. The results have enabled us to assess and drive down our costs, increase quality and operational performance, and, through clear leadership, technical and business process innovation, make the business more competitive in order to win these key long-term contracts from a global OEM (original equipment manufacturer) customer base.”

He added: “To significantly grow our activity with Rolls-Royce, a giant in the global aerospace industry, is a privilege and a fantastic endorsement of the high-quality precision engineering work we deliver here in the UK.”

Praising the Sharing in Growth programme for its support of Castle and “some 60 other aerospace suppliers”, Rolls-Royce chief executive Warren East said: “There is a national need for competitive and match-fit suppliers who are able to win work from companies like Rolls-Royce. What Castle has done is what we all do every day: look at our costs and how we can reduce them, look at how we increase the quality of what we do, and look at how – through clear leadership, technical and business process innovation – we can make our business more competitive and win more orders.”

He added: “Some of this we do ourselves, some of this we do with partners, including Government, and the Government’s funding of Sharing in Growth has made a significant difference to our supply chain, as well as to others in the aerospace sector.”

Jane Martin, managing director of business service and advice at Scottish Enterprise, said: “We’ve been working closely with Castle Precision for over five years on key areas such as innovation and manufacturing, and we’ve also been supporting the company’s ambition to target new international markets. This record contract with Rolls-Royce, won against fierce global competition, is a tremendous achievement for the company, and indeed the Scottish engineering sector.”

She added: “Castle Precision has clearly succeeded in establishing itself on the international market, and we look forward to working with the company as it leverages the exciting new opportunities, both domestic and international, that this contract will present.”

Scottish Economy Secretary Derek Mackay said: “This is a really fantastic achievement by a Scottish company and the economic benefits of this contract will be far-reaching.”