Northwest Aerospace News February | March Issue No. 13 | Page 14

SUSTAINABILITY
As with all modern manufacturing another key
focus for GKN is sustainability. Bowman states
that sustainability is something they are con-
stantly striving for at GKN Aerospace. “Sus-
tainable innovation in the aerospace industry is
primarily driven through reducing the weight
of components and also the amount of material
required to make those components. Taking
weight out of the aircraft results in a drop in
total fuel consumed per aircraft, which has a
multiplier effect based on the number of flights
that aircraft takes over its lifecycle.”  He goes
on to state that new technologies such as addi-
tive manufacturing promise less input material
to make components and thus less overall ener-
gy input to the manufacturing process. “Yield
improvements are also important because they
result in less material being wasted during the
manufacturing process, further reducing energy
inputs into our factories.”
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NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS