GE Aviation acquires additive manufacturing firms, suppliers for its LEAP jet engine

Evendale, OH - GE Aviation has acquired the assets of Morris Technologies (MTI) and sister company Rapid Quality Manufacturing, specialists in laser additive manufacturing applications and two parts suppliers for its next-generation jet engine. Their addition will help GE Aviation expand engineering and manufacturing capabilities to meet its growing jet engine output over the next five years. (GE Aviation also expects to open two new US production plants in the next year.) Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The two Cincinnati-area manufacturing companies, collectively with about 130 employees, specialize in additive manufacturing, with facilities in Sharonville and West Chester. They operate nearly two dozen direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) systems from German producer EOS; MTI was the first US organization to install an EOSINT M class machine, and one of the first shops in the US to collaborate closely with major aerospace and medical producers to explore laser sintering.

MTI and Rapid Quality Manufacturing already produce components for GE Aviation, GE Power Systems and GE's Global Research Center, including lightweight parts for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the US military to hip replacement prototypes for the medical field. They currently supply components to GE Aviation's new LEAP jet engine, a high-bypass turbofan engine that weighs significantly less than conventional engines, reducing fuel consumption and saving millions of dollars in annual fuel costs. Full-engine tests are slated to begin in 2013 with deliveries beginning in 2016 -- but GE Aviation says it already has received more than 4000 orders and commitments.