Innovation Continues to be Pratt & Whitney's Legacy

Pratt & Whitney has a long history of bringing innovation and new technology to the marketplace, and the company is repeating that cycle again with its new engine products and its latest manufacturing processes, said Joe Sylvestro, vice president of manufacturing operations, during a panel discussion - "Innovating in the Land of Steady Habits" - this week. The panel was co-sponsored by the Hartford Courant and Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network.

Sylvestro pointed to the company's PurePower® engines, which offer game-changing reductions in emissions and noise as evidence of the company's desire to continue to innovate and offer its customers better products. That spirit of innovation also carries over into how the engines are assembled. With the upcoming ramp in production, P&W took the opportunity to look at its manufacturing processes. The company took ideas from the automotive industry and put in place a new system of assembling the engines horizontally.

"We found that we can go faster and make it easier for our assembly technicians if we change the way that we assemble," he said. "Henry Ford taught us that a long, long time ago, but it's never been done for this type of product, or at this rate and magnitude."

Employees are critical to helping Pratt & Whitney continue its legacy of innovation, Sylvestro said, which is why talent development, retention and attraction are so important to the company. "We put our best people on our toughest challenges. That's the best way we have found to move things forward," he said.

To watch the entire panel discussion, click here.