Ricardo is participating in a strategic partnership led by
Florida EMMI to deliver the first commercial Maglev rail project in North
America.
Not only is Ricardo expanding its boundaries
in the direction of Maglev, it has just won an order from UTC Aerospace Systems
to manufacture complex components used in the flap actuation system of Airbus
A320 aircraft.
The Florida Department of Transportation, representing a
selection committee including the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, the
Orlando County Expressway Authority, the City of Orlando and Orange County,
selected Florida EMMI for the “Lease of Rights of Way For Fixed Guideway
Transportation System”, for a project connecting the Orlando International
Airport and the Orange County Convention Center.
Led by EMMI – a wholly owned subsidiary of
American Maglev Technology Inc. (AMT) – the partnership
includes AMT, Spanish construction conglomerate ACS Industrial North America,
Ricardo Inc. and several local Orlando-based companies.
Ricardo will bring its transportation experience to this strategic
partnership, and take on the role of vehicle systems integrator for the maglev
monorail trains.
“I’m delighted to be part of an American first” said Tom
Apostolos, president of Ricardo Inc. “Ricardo is active across a wide range of
mass transit technologies, from conventional steel wheel/steel rail to monorail
systems. We are extremely pleased to be working on North America’s first maglev
with AMT, a company that I believe is leading the future of mass transportation
for central Florida.”
Meanwhile, through its contract for A320 components, Ricardo
is linking with UTC Aerospace Systems, one of the world’s largest suppliers of
technologically advanced aerospace and defence products.
The company designs, manufactures and services systems and
components, and provides integrated solutions for commercial, regional,
business and military aircraft, helicopters and other platforms.
The contract with UTC Aerospace will require Ricardo to
deploy its advanced manufacturing capabilities – already used extensively in
the motorsports and high performance road vehicle sectors, as well for a number
of aerospace clients – to supply complex geared, splined and prismatic machined
components to drawings of A320 parts supplied by UTC Aerospace.
As with most Ricardo high performance product manufacturing
projects, these components require rigorous process adherence and the
achievement of fine manufacturing tolerances.
On 19 May, Ricardo reported its order
book at the end of April topped £141million, compared to £130million at the
same period last year, benefiting from a boost of orders in April from the US.
The order intake in the 10 months to April was £215million
against £186m in the same period of the prior year.
Significant orders won in the last four months include business
in the US for a large engine project for a major passenger car OEM, a further
DARPA order in the US defence sector and a commercial vehicle engine programme.
Orders in the UK include further passenger car orders for
large OEMs, and in Performance Products orders reflected the pre-production
phase of the new McLaren contract together with further motorsport
transmissions.
The company reports the pipeline as “encouraging” with a
number of projects for Chinese customers that are in the latter stages of
negotiation, as well as passenger car opportunities in the UK, US and Germany.
In addition, Ricardo announced further business for Performance
Products business with the signing of a multi-year production supply agreement with
an anonymous customer. Total revenue is expected to be in excess of £35million,
commencing in financial year 2015/16.
As with many Performance Products contracts, like the recently
announced record McLaren contract, the full value of the contract is not
reflected in the order intake or the order book.
Total Ricardo Group revenue in the t10 months to April 2014
is up 3% on the same period in the prior year and profit is tracking in line with
full year expectations.
In Germany and the US, Ricardo is “building momentum” with
the order book in each location significantly ahead of the prior year.
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