Pilatus (Stans, Switzerland) has officially opened its center of advanced composite competence in the canton of Nidwalden, Switzerland. Effective immediately, the development and production of the company’s composite components will be united under one roof for the first time. The new building provides a state-of-the-art workplace for ≈300 employees and has been designed to meet the highest sustainability standards.
Fiber-reinforced composites have been used at Pilatus for more than 40 years, but only for non-load-bearing secondary structures such as covers and cowlings. However, with the PC-24 Super Versatile Jet, composite materials are now used for primary structural load-bearing control surfaces as well. This represents an important technological development in Pilatus aircraft construction because these components are lighter for increased fuel savings. The company plans to further expand the use of composites in the future.
Named after a Swiss mountain, the “Schwarzhorn” building brings all composite part process steps together under one roof — from delivery and storage of raw materials to component production, subassembly and surface treatment, to storage and order picking — the components are then delivered directly to final assembly as finished kits. This largely self-sufficient composite production process allows all involved disciplines to concentrate fully on value-add activities and provides opportunity to use state-of-the-art manufacturing and inspection technologies in the future to further automate production steps. The new building also enables close collaboration between manufacturing and development.
In addition to production technology, the “Schwarzhorn” is also setting new standards in terms of energy-related performance, Pilatus reports. Photovoltaic installations on the roof and facades, plus the use of process-related waste heat for heating and groundwater for cooling, significantly reduce the need for energy from external sources. Another first for Pilatus is the company’s goal of obtaining LEED Platinum certification for the building, an internationally recognized label that signifies sustainable construction including resource conservation, environmental protection and reduction of energy and water consumption.
“With this building, Pilatus is once again reaffirming its commitment to Switzerland as a place of innovation, manufacturing and training — and to our sustainable development here at our home base, where our roots lie. Costing 100 million Swiss francs [~$123 million], this building is the most expensive facility we have invested in to-date,” says Pilatus CEO Markus Bucher.
Source | Pilatus
