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69-534: It was established in 1989 as a joint venture between Spanish engineering conglomerate SENER and Rolls-Royce Plc. By 2015, it had grown to become as the ninth largest aircraft engine and components manufacturing company in the world in terms of revenue; the firm is also ranked among the top one hundred companies in the aerospace industry. ITP Aero includes among its activities the design, research and development, manufacturing and casting, assembly and testing of aeronautical engines. It also provides MRO services for

138-545: A dynamometer to absorb and measure the power developed by the engine. During subsequent testing, the engine reached full power. On 28 February 2006, the engine was tested for the first time with the propeller installed. Europrop delivered the first TP400 engine for engine testbed flight testing on 19 November 2007. In June 2008, the TP400 had a first ground run on the inboard port wing of the C-130 K engine testbed, and integration

207-620: A quote or trial version of its ESATAN-TMS CAD software to a researcher from Istanbul Technical University ; this refusal was stated by the company to be in-line with recent sanctions that had been enacted upon Turkey by the UK government. In September 2022, Rolls-Royce sold ITP Aero to American private equity firm Bain Capital , SAPA Placencia and JB Capital for 1700 million euros. Source: Industria de Turbo Propulsores Source: ITP Aero Joint venture A joint venture ( JV )

276-439: A 2.2 percent average ROA, while wholly owned and controlled affiliates in the U.S. only realized a 0.7 percent ROA." In European law , the term "joint venture" is an exclusive legal concept, better defined under the rules of company law . In France , the term "joint venture" is variously translated as "association d'entreprises", "entreprise conjointe", "coentreprise" or "entreprise commune". A JV can be brought about in

345-713: A JV aimed at defining standards or serving as an "industry utility" that provides a narrow set of services to industry participants. Some major joint ventures include United Launch Alliance , Vevo , Hulu , Virgin Media O2 , Penske Truck Leasing , and Owens-Corning . According to Gerard Baynham of Water Street Partners, there has been much negative press about joint ventures, but objective data indicate that they may actually outperform wholly owned and controlled affiliates . He writes, "A different narrative emerged from our recent analysis of U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) data, collected from more than 20,000 entities. According to

414-679: A USD$ 3.4 billion contract to Europrop to produce 900 engines for the A400M, despite accusations of European protectionism. A member of Europrop claimed after the decision that the TP400 contract would only increase the costs of the USD$ 22.7 billion A400M program by about 1–2 percent compared to if the PW180 had been selected. The signing of the A400M contract between Airbus Military and the European defense purchasing agency OCCAR on May 27, 2003 marked

483-526: A company. By its formation, the JV becomes a new entity with the implications that: On the receipt of the Certificate of Incorporation, a company can commence its business. This is a legal area and is fraught with difficulty as the laws of countries differ, particularly on the enforceability of "heads of" or shareholder agreements. For some legal reasons, it may be called a Memorandum of Understanding . It

552-699: A contract in December 2004 to flight test the TP400 engine on a Lockheed C-130K Hercules aircraft, targeting flights in mid-2006 and hoping for a first flight in April of that year. Other testbed airframes considered were the Ilyushin Il-76 and what was thought to be the favorite, Airbus's own A340-300 testbed aircraft, because, unlike the C-130, it could reach the A400M maximum cruise speed. The TP400 large propeller would still have enough ground clearance with

621-560: A military transport plane. By this time, the firm was also engaged in multiple such collaborative defense aero engine programmes, such as EuroJet Turbo GmbH for the EJ200, and MTU Turbomeca Rolls-Royce for the MTR390 . By the mid-2010s, ITP had become the ninth largest aero engine and components manufacturing company in the world in terms of revenue, employing roughly 3,000 people around the globe. It has been closely involved with Rolls-Royce on

690-650: A new business unit dedicated to the Castings sector. By 2008, ITP had opened new overseas facilities in the United Kingdom, Malta and the United States . Over time, ITP has participated in various international aero engine programmes in both the military and civil sectors. Accordingly, it has collaborated with companies such as Rolls-Royce, General Electric , Pratt & Whitney , SNECMA and Honeywell on such endeavours. The company has specialised in

759-496: A principal disadvantage is absence of an interested and influential Chinese party. As of the 3rd Quarter of 2004, WFOEs had replaced EJVs and CJVs as follows: (*)=Financial Vventures by EJVs/CJVs (**)=Approved JVs These enterprises are formed under the Sino-Foreign Investment Act. The capital is composed of value of stock in exchange for the value of the property given to the enterprise. The liability of

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828-471: A propeller brake. The propeller is designed by Ratier-Figeac and has a diameter of 5.33 m (17.5 ft). The reversible, variable-pitch propeller holds eight blades, each having a carbon spar enclosed by a composite shell and a polyurethane coating. Its blades have a scimitar shape that results in a sweep angle of about 55 degrees at the blade tips, which have a helical speed of 290 m/s (951 ft/s; 1,044 km/h; 648 mph) at

897-410: A proposal involving a 12,000 shp (8,900 kW) turboprop with a core based on its PW800 turbofan, a 53–89-kilonewton (5,400–9,100-kilogram-force; 12,000–20,000-pound-force) regional jet engine under development that had a geared fan at the time; the concept would later be called the PW180. In 2003, around the 30 April decision deadline, Airbus Chief Executive Noel Forgeard told reporters that

966-509: A wide range of engines for regional airlines, business aviation, helicopters, industrial and defence applications. The company has a global network of production facilities in Spain, United Kingdom, Mexico , United States, Malta and India with over 3,500 employees. ITP Aero's headquarters are located in Zamudio , close to the city of Bilbao in Spain. Industria de Turbo Propulsores SA (ITP)

1035-487: Is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership , shared returns and risks , and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to access a new market, particularly emerging market ; to gain scale efficiencies by combining assets and operations; to share risk for major investments or projects; or to access skills and capabilities. Most joint ventures are incorporated, although some, as in

1104-404: Is allowed to enter into contracts with appropriate government authorities to acquire land use rights, rent buildings, and receive utility services. In this it is more similar to a CJV than an EJV. WFOEs are expected by PRC to use the most modern technologies and to export at least 50% of their production, with all of the investment is to be wholly provided by the foreign investor and the enterprise

1173-604: Is described below. The EJV Law is between a Chinese partner and a foreign company. It is incorporated in both Chinese (official) and in English (with equal validity), with limited liability. Prior to China's entry into WTO – and thus the WFOEs – EJVs predominated. In the EJV mode, the partners share profits, losses, and risk in equal proportion to their respective contributions to the venture's registered capital. These escalate upwardly in

1242-470: Is done in parallel with other activities in forming a JV. Though dealt with briefly for a shareholders' agreement , some issues must be dealt with here as a preamble to the discussion that follows. There are also many issues which are not in the Articles when a company starts up or never ever present. Also, a JV may elect to stay as a JV alone in a "quasi partnership" to avoid any nonessential disclosure to

1311-512: Is used for production engines to reduce weight. Two slightly different gearbox designs are required on each aircraft to make two propellers turn in one direction and the other two in the opposite direction depending on their position on the wing. The difference in the gearbox is the addition of an idler gear so those without the idler gear turn in one direction and those with turn in the opposite direction. The respective engines are known as baseline and handed, either of which may also be fitted with

1380-470: Is what will happen if the firm is dissolved, if one of the partners dies, or if the firm is sold. Often, the most successful JVs are those with 50:50 partnership with each party having the same number of directors but rotating control over the firm, or rights to appoint the Chairperson and Vice-chair of the company. Sometimes a party may give a separate trusted person to vote in its place proxy vote of

1449-515: Is within his total control. WFOEs are typically limited liability enterprises. Like with EJVs, but the liability of the directors, managers, advisers, and suppliers depends on the rules which govern the Departments or Ministries which control product liability, worker safety or environmental protection. An advantage the WFOE enjoys over its alternates is enhanced protection of its know-how but

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1518-523: The EuroProp consortium that produce the TP400 engine. During December 2017, final approval from Spanish authorities was received for the takeover. During June 2019, it was reported that Spanish technology group Indra Sistemas was engaging in discussions to purchase a minority stake in the company. During October 2019, there was some political tensions over a decision by ITP Engines UK to refuse to issue

1587-645: The Kuznetsov NK-12 from Russia and Progress D-27 from Ukraine, using contra-rotating propellers , are larger. The TP400 was originally selected by Airbus Military to power the A400M in December 2000. However, Airbus reopened the engine competition in February 2002, because the engine core, which is based on the Snecma M88 turbofan fighter engine, was too heavy and used too much fuel. By May 2002, Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC) announced

1656-486: The World Trade Organization (WTO) around 2001 has had profound effects on foreign investment. Not being a JV, they are considered here only in comparison or contrast. To implement WTO commitments, China publishes from time to time updated versions of its "Catalogs Investments" (affecting ventures) prohibited, restricted. The WFOE is a Chinese legal person and has to obey all Chinese laws. As such, it

1725-484: The full authority digital engine control (FADEC) software to the satisfaction of the civil authorities. More specifically, Europrop determined in mid-2008 that the engine worked correctly, but the FADEC software still did not meet EASA requirements. Since the A400M was intended for humanitarian missions, the aircraft also needed to have a civil certification. Europrop did not realize that this meant that every change made to

1794-464: The oil and gas industry , are "unincorporated" joint ventures that mimic a corporate entity. With individuals, when two or more persons come together to form a temporary partnership for the purpose of carrying out a particular project, such partnership can also be called a joint venture where the parties are " co-venturers ". The venture can be a business JV (for example, Dow Corning), a project/asset JV intended to pursue one specific project only, or

1863-450: The "constitution" of a company in these countries. The articles of association regulate the interaction between shareholders and the directors of a company and can be a lengthy document of up to 700,000 or so pages. It deals with the powers relegated by the stockholders to the directors and those withheld by them, requiring the passing of ordinary resolutions , special resolutions and the holding of Extraordinary General Meetings to bring

1932-476: The A400M design would have a "handed" propeller configuration, meaning that the pair of propellers on each wing would turn in opposite directions known as rotating "down between engines". Two different gearboxes are required, one with extra components to reverse the rotation of the propeller. This counter-rotating propeller design meant the TP400 engine would have to be certificated for two different gearbox/propeller configurations. Airbus awarded Marshall Aerospace

2001-459: The DOC data, foreign joint ventures of U.S. companies realized a 5.5 percent average return on assets (ROA), while those companies' wholly owned and controlled affiliates (the vast majority of which are wholly owned) realized a slightly lower 5.2 percent ROA. The same story holds true for investments by foreign companies in the U.S., but the difference is more pronounced. U.S.-based joint ventures realized

2070-541: The FADEC software for the largest civil jet engine . Further problems arose in 2016 with the propeller gearbox. It showed abnormal wear and inadequate management of the heat generated in the reduction gearing which required premature servicing. This problem led to the German Air Force temporarily grounding two of its three A400M aircraft, and also resulted in a Royal Air Force aircraft suffering an inflight engine shutdown. An interim fix for this engine issue

2139-640: The Founder at board meetings. Recently, in a major case the Indian Supreme Court has held that Memorandums of Understanding (whose details are not in the articles of association) are "unconstitutional" giving more transparency to undertakings. A JV is not a permanent structure. It can be dissolved when: Joint ventures are risky forms of business partnerships . Literature in business and management has paid attention to different factors of conflict and opportunism in joint ventures, in particular

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2208-686: The IPC to the IPT rotates in the opposite direction to the HP shaft through which it passes. The overall pressure ratio is 25:1. The IP compressor has a pressure ratio of 3.5:1, and the HP compressor a pressure ratio of 7:1. The low pressure turbine (LPT) is provided by Industria de Turbo Propulsores (ITP), and it is derived from the LPT of the Rolls-Royce BR715 regional turbofan. This free-power turbine drives

2277-464: The JV's life, giving the option to the foreign investor, by holding higher equity, obtains a faster rate of return with the concurrent wish of the Chinese partner of a later larger role of maintaining long-term control. The parties in any of the ventures, EJV, CJV or WFOE prepare a feasibility study outlined above. It is a non-binding document – the parties are still free to choose not to proceed with

2346-523: The P&;WC proposal was 20 percent cheaper than for the TP400, and that he would have chosen to give the contract to P&WC, but government officials requested an extension for the companies to revise their bids. Before the final bids were modified, sources claimed that P&WC's offering, which had a European production percentage of 75 percent, was lower by USD$ 400 million. On 6 May, amidst pressure from European political and business leaders, Airbus awarded

2415-478: The TP400, and on 13 March 2013 it granted a type certificate for the A400M aircraft. The aircraft and engine officially entered service on 30 September 2013 with the French Air Force. Several technical problems delayed the engine's certification test program and pushed the entire A400M aircraft program into further scheduling adjustments. The engine delays were primarily due to problems with completing

2484-536: The US) covering know-how and trademarks and supply-of-equipment agreements. The minimum equity is prescribed for investment truncated, where the foreign equity and debt levels are: There are also intermediary levels. The foreign investment in the total project must be at least 25%. No minimum investment is set for the Chinese partner. The timing of investments must be mentioned in the Agreement and failure to invest in

2553-444: The beginning of the aircraft development program, which was planned to last 77 months (6 years, 5 months). At the 2003 Paris Air Show , Europrop signed a 300 million euro contract with former engine consortium partner Avio to supply the gearboxes. However, because of mechanical and aerodynamic problems that Lockheed Martin encountered on its C-130J Super Hercules upgrade, which used new engines and propellers that had half

2622-461: The cases, the status of the formed enterprise is that of a legal Chinese person which can hire labor directly as, for example, a Chinese national contactor. The minimum of the capital is registered at various levels of investment. Other differences from the EJV are to be noted: Convenience and flexibility are the characteristics of this type of investment. It is therefore easier to find co-operative partners and to reach an agreement. With changes in

2691-622: The death of Mao Zedong in 1976, initiatives in foreign trade began to be applied, and law applicable to foreign direct investment was made clear in 1979, while the first Sino-foreign equity venture took place in 2001. The corpus of the law has improved since then. Companies with foreign partners can carry out manufacturing and sales operations in China and can sell through their own sales network. Foreign-Sino companies have export rights which are not available to wholly Chinese companies, as China desires to import foreign technology by encouraging JVs and

2760-629: The design of the TP400. Snecma supplied the combustor , which is based on the combustor of its M88 turbofan fighter engine. To drive the HPC, Snecma designed the high pressure turbine (HPT), also using M88 experience. The MTU design for their IPT uses Turbo-Union RB199 and Eurojet EJ200 turbofan fighter engine experience. Both the Snecma HPT and the MTU IPT have one stage with unshrouded HPT blades and IPT blades with shrouds. The shaft connecting

2829-503: The directors' decision to bear. A Certificate of Incorporation or the Articles of Incorporation is a document required to form a corporation in the U.S. (in actuality, the state where it is incorporated) and in countries following the practice. In the US, the "constitution" is a single document. The Articles of Incorporation is again a regulation of the directors by the stock-holders in

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2898-492: The end of October 2007, 54 months (4 years, 6 months) into the engine program. The first test flight of the TP400-powered A400M would follow by the end of the next month, and engine certification with the baseline propeller would occur by the end of March 2008. Finally, the qualification test would finish by the end of January 2009. After a two-month delay, the engine first ran on 28 October 2005 using

2967-526: The engine installed on the A340 low-mounted wing. According to the engine master program presented in September 2006, the TP400 was to reach its first engine run by the end of August 2005, followed by the first combined engine and propeller run by the end of that year. The TP400 would fly on its own specialized testbed aircraft by the end of 2006, and the engine would be certified with the "handed" propeller by

3036-471: The following major ways: In the UK , India , and in many common law countries, a joint-venture (or else a company formed by a group of individuals) must file its memorandum of association with the appropriate authority. This is a statutory document which informs the public of its existence. It may be viewed by the public at the office in which it is filed. Together with the articles of association , it forms

3105-713: The following year, it launched engine component manufacturing activity at its plant in Zamudio , Bizkaia . In 1992, the company secured its first contract with Rolls-Royce, performing work on the Rolls-Royce Trent turbofan engine for civilian airliners such as the Airbus A330 and the Boeing 767 . During 1998, ITP began developing an international presence via its acquisition of a majority stake in Mexican engine specialist Turborreactores . In 2001, it created

3174-423: The government or the public. Some of the issues in a shareholders' agreement are: There are many features which have to be incorporated into the shareholders' agreement which is quite private to the parties as they start off. Normally, it requires noтуОЧ submission to any authority. The other basic document which must be articulated is the Articles, which is a published document and known to members. This repeats

3243-567: The indicated time, draws a penalty. Co-operative Joint Ventures (CJVs) are permitted under the Sino-Foreign Co-operative Joint Ventures. Co-operative enterprises are also called Contractual Operative Enterprises. The CJVs may have a limited structure or unlimited – therefore, there are two versions. The limited-liability version is similar to the EJVs in status of permissions – the foreign investor provides

3312-602: The influence of parent control structure, ownership change, and volatile environment. Government procurement regulations, such as the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) in the United States, may specify how joint ventures are to be approached as suppliers or confirm that a joint venture or other form of contractor partnering is seen as a "desirable" arrangement for supplying to government. The FAR states that The Government will recognize

3381-405: The integrity and validity of contractor team arrangements [including joint ventures], provided the arrangements are identified and company relationships are fully disclosed in an offer or, for arrangements entered into after submission of an offer, before the arrangement becomes effective. The Government will not normally require or encourage the dissolution of contractor team arrangements. Under

3450-719: The latest technologies. Under Chinese law, foreign enterprises are divided into several basic categories. Of these, five will be described or mentioned here: three relate to industry and services and two as vehicles for foreign investment. Those five categories of Chinese foreign enterprises are: the Sino-Foreign Equity Joint Ventures (EJVs), Sino-Foreign Co-operative Joint Ventures (CJVs), Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprises (WFOE), although they do not strictly belong to Joint Ventures, plus foreign investment companies limited by shares (FICLBS), and Investment Companies through Foreign Investors (ICFI). Each category

3519-520: The latter's Trent engine family , having acted as a key risk and revenue sharing partner on the programme in addition to applying various turbine-related technologies. On 11 July 2016, Rolls-Royce Holdings announced that it was in the process of purchasing the outstanding 53.1% shareholding in the IPT joint venture in exchange for €720m. The deal was promoted as increasing Rolls-Royce's long-term aftermarket revenues, along with its stake in various defense-related manufacturing and services programmes, such as

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3588-480: The law, it becomes possible to merge with a Chinese company for a quick start. A foreign investor does not need to set up a new corporation in China. Instead, the investor uses the Chinese partner's business license, under a contractual arrangement. However, under the CJV, the land stays in the possession of the Chinese partner. There is another advantage: the percentage of the CJV owned by each partner can change throughout

3657-415: The low pressure compressor, called an intermediate pressure compressor (IPC) by Europrop International because it is driven by an IP turbine, is designed by MTU Aero Engines and has five stages. The high-pressure compressor (HPC) is designed by Rolls-Royce and has six stages, the first two of which are variable. Design lessons learned and experience gained on previous engine programs are incorporated in

3726-402: The majority of funds and technology and the Chinese party provides land, buildings, equipment, etc. However, there are no minimum limits on the foreign partner which allows him to be a minority shareholder. The other format of the CJV is similar to a partnership where the parties jointly incur unlimited liability for the debts of the enterprise with no separate legal person being created. In both

3795-597: The manufacture and development of gas turbine components and modules. It also offers in-house support services, such as maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) activities and high value-added services on behalf of other engine manufacturers. During the 2000s, ITP became involved in the production of the Europrop TP400 , the largest turboprop engine developed in Europe, to power the Airbus A400M Atlas ,

3864-609: The maximum cruise speed to Mach 0.64 instead of the TP400 propeller's Mach 0.72 maximum. On 18 November 2009, an A400M test aircraft completed a ground run for the first time with all four TP400 engines, quickly followed by the A400M's first taxi trial on 23 November 2009. On 11 December 2009, the maiden flight of the A400M took place. The engine earned civil certification from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) on 6 May 2011. By April 2012, EASA certified Ratier-Figeac's FH385/FH386 propellers for

3933-414: The planned output of the TP400, Airbus retained the option to select the engine configuration and the propeller for itself. The TP400 development schedule, which was considered very ambitious, had the bench run of the engine targeted for within 27 months (2 years, 3 months) of the contract signing, or August 2005. In spite of Europrop's insistence that testing on a specialized engine testbed aircraft

4002-474: The project. The feasibility study must cover the fundamental technical and commercial aspects of the project, before the parties can proceed to formalize the necessary legal documentation. The study should contain details referred to earlier under Feasibility Study (submissions by the Chinese partner). There is basic law of the PRC concerning enterprises with sole foreign investment controls, WFOEs. China's entry into

4071-501: The propeller through a third coaxial shaft and a reduction gearbox. The Avio -produced gearbox has a maximum power output of about 8,000 kW (11,000 hp). Reduction occurs in two stages: a first-stage offset design , followed by a second-stage planetary system . The total reduction gear ratio is about 9.5:1. The maximum gearbox output torque is 100 kilonewton-meters (74,000 pound force-feet). Early prototype gearbox cases were made using aluminum alloy, but magnesium alloy

4140-549: The rules applicable to public procurement in the European Union , public bodies may insist that suppliers intending to provide goods and services through a joint partnership accept joint liability for the execution of the contract. According to a 2003 report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development , China was the recipient of US$ 53.5 billion in direct foreign investment, making it

4209-440: The same proportion as the increase in registered capital. The JV contract accompanied by the articles of association for the EJV are the two most fundamental legal documents of the project. The Articles mirror many of the provisions of the JV contract. In case of conflict the JV document has precedence. These documents are prepared at the same time as the feasibility report. There are also the ancillary documents (termed "offsets" in

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4278-435: The shareholders agreement as to the number of directors each founder can appoint to the board of directors; whether the board controls or the founders; the taking of decisions by simple majority (50%+1) of those present or a 51% or 75% majority with all directors present (their alternates/ proxy ); the deployment of funds of the firm; extent of debt; the proportion of profit that can be declared as dividends; etc. Also significant

4347-405: The shareholders, including debt, is equal to the number of shares purchased by each partner. Europrop TP400 The Europrop International TP400-D6 is an 11,000  shp (8,200 kW) powerplant, developed and produced by Europrop International for the Airbus A400M Atlas military transport aircraft . The TP400 is the most powerful turboprop in service using a single propeller; only

4416-424: The software in the FADEC had to be documented to enable traceability so EASA denied civil certification of the software. Because of this problem, the first A400M test aircraft, which was flight-ready by September 2008, was not permitted to fly. Europrop had to triple the size of its workforce to fix the issue, resulting in a FADEC system consisting of over 275,000 lines of code, which was four times more complex than

4485-426: The world's largest recipient of direct foreign investment for the first time, to exceed the US. Also, it approved the establishment of nearly 500,000 foreign-investment enterprises. The US had 45,000 projects by 2004 with an in-place investment of over 48 billion. Until recently, no guidelines existed on how foreign investment was to be handled due to the restrictive nature of China toward foreign investors. Following

4554-455: Was certified in July 2016. The gearbox issues persisted, and as of July 2018, the final fix was planned to be introduced by the end of that year. The TP400 has a three-shaft configuration, consisting of a two-shaft gas generator followed by a free-power turbine . It has a chin air intake , for its mass flow of 26.3 kilograms per second (3,480 pounds per minute). In the gas generator,

4623-458: Was completed onto the first A400M production aircraft. After 24 hours of ground runs and taxi trials, the first flight of a single TP400-D6 engine took place on 17 December 2008. Airbus and Marshall completed flight testing on the C-130K testbed aircraft completed on 30 September 2009 after 18 flights, 55 flight hours, and 61 hours of ground tests, although the design of the C-130K airframe limited

4692-733: Was established in 1989. It was originally structured as a joint venture between Spanish engineering conglomerate SENER and British aero engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce Holdings . Its formation was closely associated with the creation of EuroJet Turbo GmbH , a multinational engine consortium to develop and produce the EJ200 turbojet engine to power the Eurofighter Typhoon . In 1990, ITP acquired an engine maintenance plant located in Ajalvir , Madrid , from Spanish aircraft manufacturer Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA (CASA). During

4761-503: Was unnecessary, Airbus pushed for such a program on the Airbus A300 or A340 starting 11 months after the first ground tests. The engine testbed program would cost Airbus an estimated €40 million. In July/August 2003, Airbus signed a contract worth up to USD$ 830 million with Ratier-Figeac to supply the propellers , which would be 5.33 meters (17.5 feet) in diameter and have eight composite blades. By May 2004, Airbus decided that

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