Nexcelle

Nexcelle

Industry	Aerospace
Headquarters	Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Key people	Michel Abella (President)
Products	Integrated propulsion systems Nacelle systems
Website	www.nexcelle.com

Nexcelle is a joint venture between General Electric’s (GE) Middle River Aircraft Systems and the Safran group’s Aircelle – both of which are suppliers of engine nacelles, thrust reversers and aerostructures.

Headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, Nexcelle has teamed with its parent companies to develop, produce and support integrated propulsion systems for jet engine applications on single-aisle jetliners and business aircraft.^[1]

History

GE Aviation and Safran announced an agreement on a new nacelle joint venture on July 15, 2008 at the Farnborough Airshow in Farnborough, England.^[2] Nexcelle was announced as the name of the new company on September 21, 2009.^[3]

On June 14, 2009, the appointment of Steve Walters as Nexcelle president was announced at the Paris Air Show. Walters had worked in various engineering and leadership roles, with the majority of his career at GE – including two of his most recent roles as director of Business Operations for the CFM56 engine program and the airfoils business Quality and Compliance leader for GE Aviation.^[4]

Also at the 2009 Paris Air Show, Nexcelle’s cooperative nacelle systems agreement with CFM International was detailed. This accord covers the development and production of integrated propulsion systems for potential new applications for CFM engines.^[5]

Michel J. Abella was announced as the Director of Programs at Nexcelle on December 18, 2009.^[6]

In December, 2009, Nexcelle became a partner on the world's first truly integrated propulsion system. The company was selected to provide a combined nacelle, thrust reverser and exhaust system for the new CFM International LEAP-X1C engine selected as the sole western powerplant to launch China’s COMAC C919 jetliner. Nexcelle’s contribution to LEAP-X on the C919 includes an innovative nacelle design that is produced with a significant percentage of composites, and which incorporates advanced acoustic treatment. It also is to be equipped with an Electrical Thrust Reverser Actuation System (ETRAS).^[7]

The Nexcelle PANACHE thrust reverser demonstrator is deployed during testing at GE Aviation’s Peebles, Ohio facility. An anti-ingestion tunnel protects the CFM56-5C testbed engine against FOD (foreign object damage) during thrust reverse. (May 16, 2012)

In October 2010, GE selected Nexcelle to provide the nacelle and thrust reverser for the GE Passport 20 engine to be used on Bombardier’s new Global 7000 and Global 8000 business jets. The announcement was made at the NBAA Annual Meeting and Convention.^[8] At the Paris Air Show in June 2011, Nexcelle signed the purchase agreement for its supply of the GE Passport 20’s nacelle system to GE Aviation.^[9]

Nexcelle’s presence at the 2011 Paris Air Show also included a functional half-scale model demonstrating key elements of the company’s integrated propulsion system concepts for jet engines on airliners.^[10]

In January 2012, Nexcelle announced the appointment of Huntley Myrie as its new president – succeeding the company’s first president, Steve Walters, who moved on to become the product leader for GE Aviation’s nacelle and aerostructures activities.^[11]

Nexcelle began full-scale testing of its nacelle demonstrator – called PANACHE (Pylon And Nacelle Advanced Configuration for High Efficiency) – in May 2012, marking a first validation of the thrust reverser element for the company’s Integrated Propulsion System technology. This activity occurred at GE Aviation’s Peebles Test Operation in Ohio, and it involved 200 cycles representing normal deployments, rejected take-off deployments and aborted landings.^[12]

Michel Abella was appointed president of Nexcelle in August 2013.

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