Rolls Royce, UK

Project: Aero Engine Test Beds – Dew Point Monitoring
Location: Derby, Sin Fin A Site
Products: Chilled Mirror Hygrometers

With over 12,000 people and an estate of over 400,000 square metres, Derby is home to the largest concentration of Rolls Royce employees in the UK. It’s also home to their academy where over 200 apprentices are recruited each year and is the site for their Learning and Development centre.

While civil aerospace is the main focus for Rolls Royce in Derby, the city plays host to the full breadth of the company. This includes 2,400 people in Raynesway. Its core gas turbine technology has created one of the broadest product ranges of aero engines in the world, with 54,000 engines in service with 500 airlines, 2,400 corporate and utility operators and more than 100 armed forces, powering both fixed and rotary wing aircraft.

In 2017, the future of the civil aerospace division was secured for the next 30 years when the company decided that a new £90M test bed would be constructed on the Derby site instead of overseas. Dew point is a critical measurement in the monitoring of aero engine efficiency and when looking to equip the new facility, Rolls Royce turned to ABLE Instruments & Controls. ABLE has a long history of optical hygrometer supply and provision of expertise in good measurement practice to the Derby and Hucknall sites.