Parker Aerospace Is Awarded $2 Billion Fuel Package and Hydraulic System for New Airbus A350 Xwb Aircraft


IRVINE, CA, January 16, 2008 - Parker Aerospace has been selected by Airbus to supply both the fuel and hydraulic systems for its new A350 extra-widebody (XWB) aircraft.

Parker fuel package. The fuel system contract is the result of a collaborative effort by Parker's Air & Fuel, Electronic Systems, and Nichols Airborne Divisions and Parker's Fuel Systems team. Together they will provide the entire fuel system equipment package, including the inerting system, fuel measurement and management system, fluid mechanical equipment, and engine feed and transfer fuel pumps.

The contract will generate more than US$1 billion over the life of the program for Parker.

Parker's Air & Fuel Division in Irvine, California, will provide the fuel tank inerting system. This system uses air separation modules with patented fibers provided by Parker's Filtration and Separation Division located in the Netherlands. The air separation modules generate nitrogen-enriched air by removing the oxygen molecules from its air source and distributing the nitrogen to all the aircraft's fuel tanks, thereby reducing the flammability of fuel vapors in the fuel tank and increasing the aircraft's safety.

Parker's Electronic Systems Division in Smithtown, New York, will provide the fuel measurement system, which gauges the fuel quantity in the tanks located in an aircraft's wings and fuselage, as well as the fuel management system, which monitors the distribution of fuel while commanding pumps and valves in the fuel system to provide fuel transfer and refuel.

The fluid mechanical equipment provided by the Air & Fuel Division and the engine feed and transfer fuel pumps provided by the Nichols Airborne Division in Elyria, Ohio, are new product wins for Parker on Airbus aircraft. These products will provide multiple functions for the aircraft, including refueling and defueling, transfer, engine feed, and fuel tank venting. During aircraft operation, the pumps transfer fuel from tank to tank and supply fuel to the engine. The Parker fluid mechanical equipment will provide the control valves for fuel shutoff, isolation, emergency shutoff, and venting air in and out of the tanks.

Parker hydraulic package. The Hydraulic Systems Division in Kalamazoo, Michigan, won the hydraulic power generation and distribution system on the new A350 XWB. This complex bill of material is comprised of seven individual work packages including pumps, reservoirs, manifolds, accumulators, thermal control, isolation, and software. Together these products provide the hydraulic system functions necessary to power and control the aircraft. This system expands Parker's capability and product offering to the aerospace industry, including a newly designed engine-driven pump, an electric motor-driven pump with control and protection functions, an automatic air bleeding bootstrap reservoir, and hydraulic system control and health monitoring software to DO-178 Level B.

The contract will also generate over US$1 billion for Parker over the life of the program.

"These are exciting wins for Parker and reflect three years of dedicated work from many Parker divisions and team members," said Bob Barker, president of Parker Aerospace. "We are pleased to be a part of this technologically advanced aircraft program."

Parker supports many Airbus aircraft platforms, including the A300, A310, A320, A330, A340, A340-500/600, and A380.

About Parker Hannifin Corporation. Parker Aerospace is an operating segment of Parker Hannifin Corporation. Parker Aerospace designs, manufactures, and services hydraulic, fuel, and pneumatic components, systems, and related electronic controls for aerospace and other high-technology markets. Based in Irvine, California, its product lines include flight control actuation systems and components, thrust-reverser actuation systems, electrohydraulic servovalves, utility hydraulic systems and components, DC motor pumps, fuel pumps, lubrication and scavenge pumps, fuel measurement and management systems, cockpit instrumentation, flight inspection systems, pneumatic subsystems and components, fluid metering delivery and atomization devices, wheels and brakes, and fluid conveyance products such as hoses, tubes, disconnects, and fittings.

With annual sales exceeding US$10 billion, Parker Hannifin is the world's leading diversified manufacturer of motion and control technologies and systems, providing precision-engineered solutions for a wide variety of commercial, mobile, industrial, and aerospace markets. The company employs more than 57,000 people in 43 countries around the world. Parker has increased its annual dividends paid to shareholders for 51 consecutive years, among the top five longest-running dividend-increase records in the S&P 500 index. For more information, visit the company's web site at www.parker.com, or its investor information site at www.phstock.com.

Contact: Alison Dittmeier, Media Relations & Communications Manager
Parker Aerospace
Phone 949 851 3515
adittmeier@parker.com
Division: Air & Fuel Division

All Topics