ADF STAFF
Aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney will launch an affiliate, Pratt & Whitney Maroc, in Casablanca, Morocco, to manufacture engine parts.
The U.S.-based company said the goal is to “develop cost-effective sourcing capabilities for competitiveness and to optimise operations footprint and asset utilization,” according to defenceWeb. The company selected Morocco “due to its growing hub of aerospace companies, cost of business and trained, available talent.”
The company said the new plant would create 200 jobs by 2030. It will be built in Casablanca’s Aerospace Focused Free Zone, an industrial park specifically targeting aerospace production systems. The free zone was designed to offer tax incentives and other benefits for aerospace manufacturing. Construction of the 12,000-square-meter facility was scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2023, with completion set for 2025.
The company estimated that there are about 3,000 Pratt & Whitney engines in use in Africa.
The aeronautical sector in Morocco accounts for about 140 companies with about $2 billion in exports, according to the International Trade Administration. The industry employs 17,000 people, 40% of whom are women.
Morocco has 24 commercial airports and intends to invest $200 million to develop and enhance them, specifically the freight zones of the Casablanca and Tangier airports.
Pratt & Whitney offers global service operations. It is a subsidiary of RTX, the world’s largest aerospace and defense company, with 180,000 employees worldwide. The company, with 2022 sales of $67 billion, is based in Arlington, Virginia.
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