UEC-Aviadvigatel and UEC-Perm Engines (part of Rostec United Engine Corporation, members of Russian Engineering Union (Soyuzmash of Russia)) welcomed participants of the development program for the executive candidate pool in science, technology, and higher education.
The program participants toured the facilities of the Perm Engines research and production complex as part of the sixth educational module, “Knowledge-Intensive Production: Innovation and Strategic Leadership”. The delegation comprised 75 people: heads of research organizations, technology and manufacturing companies, and regional government bodies overseeing the advancement of science, education, and innovation from 32 regions of Russia.
Since 2008 UEC-Aviadvigatel and UEC-Perm Engines have been engaged in projects to develop cutting-edge gas turbine engines for aviation. In 2018, the PD-14 engine for the MC-21-310 aircraft received its Type Certificate and has since entered serial production. Today, the PD-14 is taking part in the aircraft's certification trials. In 2017, UEC-Aviadvigatel launched R&D work on the first high-thrust engine in the history of Russian aviation. To date, under the PD-35 Program, a technology demonstrator engine has been built and is successfully undergoing a series of tests. As partners, the enterprises are also involved in the development of the PD-8 engine for the import-substituted SSJ-100 aircraft.
In the course of the visit, delegation participants have toured individual production sites, shops and centers of competence. At the aircraft engine final assembly shop, they were shown components and assemblies of the PD-14 engine. The guests also had a look at various stages of the assembly process for the PD-14 and PS-90A engines. The delegation was accompanied by Igor Maksimov, Deputy General Designer — Chief Designer of the PD engine family at UEC-Aviadvigatel, and Alexander Malii, Head of the Assembly Shop at UEC-Perm Engines.
A tour of the “Gas Turbine Engine Shafts” competence center was conducted for the delegates by Vadim Khairulin, Chief Engineer of the serial production plant. The center manufactures transmission shafts for products across all enterprises of United Engine Corporation. The guests viewed the machine tools, the robot-assisted line, and finished products, and had all their questions thoroughly answered.
Concluding the visit, program participants met Alexander Inozemtsev, Deputy General Director of UEC for Perm Engines Research & Production Complex Management, Managing Director–General Designer of UEC-Aviadvigatel, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Hero of Labor of Russian Federation. He presented the UEC-Aviadvigatel design bureau and the UEC-Perm Engines serial production plant, the production programs currently being carried out by the engine builders, and the outlook for the coming years. Alexander Inozemtsev also took questions from the participants of the development program for the executive candidate pool.
“First and foremost, you must be a true professional in your field. Today, unfortunately, young managers are convinced that once they have acquired a set of management skills, they can effectively lead anything at all. A lack of professionalism in the business you are leading is the biggest pitfall. Second, you need to be extremely hard-working. Third, you must act with integrity toward your partners and clients,” Alexander Inozemtsev stressed when asked about the key qualities a successful, effective leader should possess.
The guests were keen to learn about the specifics of cooperation between the design bureau and the serial production plant, the potential for collaboration between the design bureau and regional universities, the specific performance characteristics of the PD-14 and PD-8 engines, cooperation with Russian and international engine manufacturers, and much more.
