Dowty Propellers restarts production of propeller blades

Dowty Propellers’ reset of its production capabilities is fully underway, placing the company on track to ramp-up the manufacture of composite propeller blades following a fire earlier this year at its Gloucestershire headquarters in southwest England.

A new interim production site has begun operation at an 80,000-sq. ft. facility in Mitcheldean, Gloucestershire county, which has been adapted to Dowty Propellers’ specifications for blade manufacture and also incorporates office space for support personnel.

Equipment now functional in the facility includes new braiding machinery for the layup of composite blades’ outer fibre skins, foam injection rigs for the creation of propeller cores, cutting capability for carbon and glass fibre fabric, along with tooling positions for composite layup and quality control workstations.

In the process of installation at Mitcheldean is additional machining capacity for the production output ramp-up, along with an area for blade finishing, coating and painting.

“Our company’s determination to fully recover its production and customer support capabilities was literally forged in the February fire, and it is no exaggeration to say that Dowty Propellers is coming back – better than ever,” said President Oliver Towers.

He explained that a three-pronged reset plan was defined by managers in the initial hours after the fire: keep the Dowty Propellers-equipped aircraft fleets flying with customers and operators worldwide; rapidly re-establish the blade production capability; and retain the company’s full ranks of skilled employees.

“Through the dedication, hard work and efforts of everyone at Dowty Propellers – along with the support and resources from our parent company – we are meeting these goals,” Towers added.