testing talk
We are special in the sense that we are
comparable to a big industrial factory
52 MARCH 2020 \\ AEROSPACETESTINGINTERNATIONAL.COM
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1
1 // The Repair
Development Center, one of
the main laboratories
located in the Gas Turbine
Center at the Engineering
Design Center
2 // The Engineering
Design Centre’s Component
Test Laboratory
2
he GE Engineering Design Center in
Warsaw, Poland celebrates its 20th
Anniversary this year. The Center,
which employs around 1500 staff,
recently played a key role in developing GE’s latest
turboprop engine the Catalyst, which is scheduled to fly
for the first time this year.
Aerospace Testing International talked to the leader of
the Engineering Design Center (EDC) and one of the
company’s first employees, Marian Lubieniecki, about the
center’s testing capabilities and equipment, the aviation
sector in Poland, and being part of one of the largest
international global corporations in the world.
CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT THE BACKGROUND
OF THE EDC IS AND HOW IT WAS CREATED?
There is no legal entity called the EDC, we are a hybrid
organization, the center is really a common design office
that was created between GE and Łukasiewicz Research
Network - Institute of Aviation. So, the EDC is a joint
venture of two parties. We operate like one company, but
we are actually two separate companies. A very well
established, globally operated, international company
and a regionally-oriented research institute.
The joint structure allows us to benefit from the
advantages of each organization. Thanks to the
relationship with the Łukasiewicz Research Network -
Institute of Aviation, we are research-driven and
embedded in the Polish scientific and industrial world.
Thanks to our GE connection, we are globally and
industry-oriented, allowing us the best of both worlds.
WHAT ARE THE CAPABILITIES OF THE EDC?
The capabilities of the EDC have evolved a lot over the
last two decades. We started with aviation and have
expanded into the energy sector. For several years we
have had a team working with GE Oil and Gas. Now we
have two other teams that operate with the energy
sector, one focused on heavy-duty gas turbines and a
smaller team that works for GE’s offshore wind business.
The largest team works on engines from technology
development through product design and up to entryinto
service. We cover the whole product development
lifecycle for key GE Aviation products. We also have
technology groups, like digital technology focused on
particular areas of innovation.
Sometimes we’re called the city of engineers because
of the number of laboratory buildings we have. If you
think about technology capitals, we are one of them, but I
think we are special in the sense that we have access to
full-scale megawatts of power, comparable to a big
industrial factory.
I think it’s also very important that we use the
experience and knowledge of both partners, and there is
a lot to lean on. GE Aviation had its 100th anniversary
last year and two years ago we celebrated a hundred
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