Award-Winning Competitiveness, Technology and Quality

Q: What does the Mexican division represent to ITP and to the state of Queretaro?

A: Our branch in Mexico is the second largest after the one in Spain. We have 654 employees divided into three different divisions. The first and largest is ITP Ingeniería y Fabricación, which designs and manufactures engine casings and seals. The second is Industria de Tuberías Aeronáuticas México, which manufactures engine tubes, and finally our MRO. All our facilities have processes certified by Nadcap. We started with MRO services for the JT8D engine, commonly used in Boeing models 727 and 737, and the MacDonnell Douglas MD-82 and -83 models for fleets belonging to Mexicana, Aeroméxico and SAS Airlines, among others.

Q: Which companies are the targets of ITP’s main design and manufacturing capabilities?

A: Our engineering business designs parts for engine modules, namely low pressure turbines and compressors. It also designs the structures between turbines. Among our main projects is the transportation trailer used to install the Airbus A400M engine. This unit is used in France, the UK and Spain and is fully manufactured in Mexico. The main clients for our design business are Eurocopter, Hamilton Sundstrand, Honeywell, Aernnova, Alstom and Rolls-Royce. We also repair Auxiliary Power Units (APU) and test and repair components of the CFM56 engine. Our manufacturing business tends to engines such as RollsRoyce’s BR710 installed in the Gulfstream aircraft, in the Boeing 787’s Trent 1000 engine, Airbus A380’s Trent 900 engine, Airbus A330’s Trent 700 and the XWB used in the Airbus A350. We also work with Honeywell on Gulfstream’s HTF7000 and HTF7500 engines and Pratt & Whitney 814 and 815, installed in the Gulfstream G500 and G600.

Q: To what extent have your manufacturing aptitudes developed in the past few years?

A: We are planning to manufacture 230,000 rigid engine and aircraft pipes this year, to become the US' number one pipe producer. Two years ago, we manufactured 5,000 end fittings, last year we produced 61,000 and this year we will manufacture 82,000. In two years we want to reach 500,000 tubes and from 200,000 to 300,000 end fittings per year. 

Thirty-nine percent of our employees are highly-qualified engineers but hiring more has not been an easy task. Mexico has an abundance of engineers with a profound knowledge of aluminum alloys structures and materials but specialists in more advanced materials, such as nickel-cobalt alloys, are rare. UNAQ has excellent facilities, but while its graduates specialize in materials for airplane structures, they have little knowledge of super alloys. We are struggling to fill these positions as few individuals are qualified in those areas and they tend to be already working for our competitors. The main problem with training professionals in super alloys is that it is a long process.

Q: How does ITP plan to fortify its MRO services in Mexico?

A: To date we only provide MRO Services for the JT8D engine in Mexico. Sadly, this engine is gradually being replaced. Thus we have reduced this branch to 103 maintenance employees and broadened our offering by generating local engineering and manufacturing divisions. We plan to work with other companies in countries operating the JTD engines until we are ready to start another program.

Q: What does th ITP's defense is division represent in Mexico?

A: ITP Mexico is not currently manufacturing products or providing any services for the defense sector but we expect this will change. For instance, the TP400 program could be the first to provide MRO services to this sector as these airplanes could be used by the Mexican Air Force, the federal police and SEMAR. The Airbus A400M is among the largest and most powerful aircraft in the world as it can transport a Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter and even several tanks. It can also take off from untarmacked runways and release loads at low altitudes. This plane’s propellers measure five meters, has four engines with 11,000hp each and a payload of 37 tons, making it the most powerful turboprop aircraft in the western world.

The Mexican Air Force also wants to open a base in Queretaro, which will make it a potential client Once we are fully aware of its needs we intend to develop specific programs and services that cater to it.