BRISTOL, R.I.—Tri-Mack Plastics Manufacturing Corporation, a manufacturer of high-performance engineered components, has received General Electric Aviation’s Supplier Quality Awareness Award in recognition of its services and achievements in supplying parts for the GEnx-1b, a next-generation turbofan engine. Tri-Mack is the first supplier selected for the new award, which recognizes high standards for productivity and quality.
The GEnx-1b incorporates a new technology for oil cooling that uses a surface flow cooler on the outer flow path of the aft fan case. Using extremely complex mold tooling on a very accelerated schedule, Tri-Mack manufactured six different injection-molded parts for this cooling innovation, which requires tough, lightweight composite fairings.
To reduce the lead time, Tri-Mack’s engineering staff worked concurrently with GE on the GENx-1b to optimize part designs for producibility and overall cost-effectiveness. Tri-Mack’s tool design for the project used proprietary hand loads to mold complex geometry, including molded-in-place metal inserts. The company also employed advanced selective laser sintering technology in its strategy to save time in the development process. During the project, the engineering tool room and production staff worked around-the-clock to create hundreds of components in record time.
“We are very proud to receive this award,” said William Kain, vice president of operations at Tri-Mack, in a statement released by the company. “Like GE Aviation, we strive every day to meet or beat all of our customers’ requirements with high-quality, high-performance materials, processes, and products. An award like this is confirmation that we are reaching our goals.”
The plaque presented to Tri-Mack with the award states, “GE Aircraft Engines’ customers are constantly demanding a high quality product at an affordable price. This translates into GE Aircraft Engines’ focus on productivity and quality as the cornerstones of its operating strategy. We’ve asked our suppliers to meet continually rising standards for productivity and quality. This acknowledgement award is in recognition of your support and performance.” The presentation was held at the GE Aircraft Engines facility in Evendale, Ohio.
Tri-Mack (www.trimack.com) has been working closely with GE Aviation (formerly GE Aircraft Engines) for more than 30 years. Established to manufacture friction-wear plastic parts for aircraft engines, the company has reportedly developed extensive expertise in designing and manufacturing plastic parts using state-of the art injection molding and automated machining. Emphasizing quality, producibility, and cost management, Tri-Mack provides design, material selection, tool making, process development, assembly, and other services for aerospace, medical, electronics, industrial, energy, and chemical processing applications. In addition to being certified to ISO 9001:2000 and AS9100, the company is NADCAP certified for composite bonding and ITAR registered.
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