Rolls-Royce has opened its latest customer support facility in Savannah, Georgia. The 62,000 sq ft Savannah customer service centre is adjacent to the new Gulfstream service centre East and is scheduled to be fully operational by end of this year. It will house an on-site customer support office, an on wing services repair facility, a powerplant completion centre and a warehouse all under one roof. The investment will create additional highly-skilled jobs over the next years, increasing the total number of Rolls-Royce employees supporting Gulfstream and its customers.

The new service centre was named the Rolls-Royce Raines Building in honour of local aviation pioneer Hazel Jane Raines. Raines was Georgia's 'First Lady of Aviation', a strong advocate for women's rights and an inspiration for women in aviation.

From the beginning of Rolls-Royce's business aviation activities in 1958, marked by the first flight of the Dart-powered Gulfstream I, to the recent first flight of Gulfstream's Pearl 700-powered flagship G700, Rolls-Royce and Gulfstream have developed a strong and successful partnership. Rolls-Royce currently produces the BR710 and BR725 engines for Gulfstream's G550 and G650 and is developing the Pearl 700 to power the G700. Overall, it supports more than 2,100 Gulfstream business jets worldwide via its dedicated 24/7 business aviation availability centre.

Many of those aircraft are covered by CorporateCare and CorporateCare Enhanced; about 70 per cent of new delivery Rolls-Royce powered aircraft are enrolled in the programme. CorporateCare Enhanced, the comprehensive, fixed-cost engine maintenance management plan, provides customers with a global support infrastructure that includes: engine health monitoring, a worldwide network of authorised service centres and globally distributed spare parts and engines.

Andy Robinson, SVP customers and services, business aviation, Rolls-Royce, says: “As the leading engine manufacturer in business aviation, our customers trust in us to deliver outstanding levels of in-service support. This brand-new customer support facility is a strategic investment, which takes our longstanding partnership with Gulfstream to the next level and will help us deliver market-leading services to our business aviation customers in North America.”

“The new Rolls-Royce Savannah customer service centre reflects the strong partnership between our two companies and our continued mutual commitment to providing a world-class ownership experience for our operators,” adds Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. “The first of its kind within the Rolls-Royce network, this facility serves as a strategic complement to our two Gulfstream Savannah service centres, providing extensive engine capabilities where they'll have the greatest impact: at our company and manufacturing headquarters.”

“Global Fortune 500 companies like Rolls-Royce choosing to expand in Georgia are a testament to our strength in advanced manufacturing and logistics, particularly within our $57.5 billion aerospace sector supported by the Port of Savannah, which is now the top port for US exports,” concludes Governor Brian P. Kemp. “I am grateful to Rolls-Royce for its continued investment in the Peach State and look forward to seeing the opportunities this expansion brings to the hardworking folks of southeast and coastal Georgia.”