OREANDA-NEWS. NPO Saturn and P.A. Solovyev Rybinsk State Aviation Technological University (RGATU) presented a joint innovative project in the frame of the VUZPROMEXPO-2013 annual national exhibition.

Having joined forces, NPO Saturn and RGATU took part in the first national exhibition dubbed “VUZPROMEXPO-2013. Russian science - the foundation of national industrialization” held in Moscow on 17-18 December 2013.

The integrated NPO Saturn-RGATU exhibition booth under the aegis of the Rostec State Corporation featured a comprehensive project dedicated to the creation of a high-tech blade production set-up for the few-stage, high-pressure gas turbine installations located in one of UEC's Rybinsk-based industrial competence centers.

The project got on its way back in January 2013 in collaboration between NPO Saturn and RGATU having preliminary won an open-public competition seeking to pinpoint the companies eligible for subsidies to finance comprehensive projects aimed at the creation of high-tech production set-up's. The project duration is 3 years. At the moment NPO Saturn has allocated a shop-floor area for the project implementation equipped with all the required machine tools to produce blades through electrochemical machining serving the needs in blades of all the UEC companies.

The implementation of different actions stipulated by the joint project between the company and the learning institution has allowed Saturn to drastically decrease the labor-output ratio with regard to the production of GTE blade airfoils and ensure the fulfillment of the engine delivery program without any additional needs in operators or equipment. The obtained results have been introduced into the NPO Saturn engine manufacturing processes and are also used by RGATU for improving the skills of the university's future leaders as well as those of NPO Saturn employees.

“At the VUZPROMEXPO-2013 we have been able to demonstrate some innovation-driven products, in particular, the blades produced as a result of our studies conducted conjointly with RGATU, - shared NPO Saturn chief engineer Mikhail Kasatkin. - The implementation of the said project has shown and proven the possibility and fruitfulness of collaboration between the higher learning institution's scientific community and the company's designers and engineers which allows to maneuver and enhance our production capabilities at the same time preparing the future employees because the new processes we are researching into now will have to be put to practical use here pretty soon.”

The new development of Saturn and RGATU arose a lot of interest in the exhibition booth visitors and the expo attendees on the whole. The overall exposition of NPO Saturn and RGATU at the VUZPROMEXPO-2013 was visited by the representatives of the management of the Rostec State Corporation, the Oboronprom United Industrial Corporation, United Engine Corporation and the representatives of different UEC companies as well as presidents of Russia's leading learning institutions with whom in the course of the exhibition and some negotiations, a path towards mutually profitable collaboration was outlined which opens new possibilities for running joint projects in the future.

The NPO Saturn Research and Production Association (OJSC) is an engine-building company specialized in the design and development, production and after-market support of gas turbine engines for military and civil aviation, naval ships and power-generating plants and gas-pumping units. The association is part of the All-Russian public organization The Union of mechanical engineers of Russia whereby the regional branch is headed by I. N. Fedorov, NPO Saturn CEO.

NPO Saturn is part of United Engine Corporation (OJSC) and acts as the leader of the Civil Engines Division, a business unit of UEC founded on 09.10.2012 as a result of integration of the following companies: NPO Saturn (OJSC), Aviadvigatel (OJSC), PMZ (OJSC), Metallist-PM (CJSC), Energetik-PM (OJSC), REMOS-PM (CJSC), Motoservis-PM (CJSC) and Zheleznodorozhnik-PM (CJSC).

United Engine Corporation (OJSC) is a subsidiary of the OBORONPROM UIC (OJSC). The UEC structure integrates over 85% of Russia's leading companies specialized in the design and development, serial production and after-market support of gas turbine machinery as well as the key enterprises - the industry's integral players. One of UEC's prioritized fields of activity is the implementation of comprehensive programs of development of the companies in the industry by introducing new technologies meeting the world-class standards.

The OBORONPROM United Industrial Corporation (OJSC) is a multi-field machine-building group created in 2002. It is part of Rostec. The main fields of activity are helicopter building (the Russian Helicopters holding), engine building (the UEC holding) and other assets.

The Rostekhnologii State Corporation (Rostec) is a Russian corporation established in 2007 in order to facilitate the development, manufacturing and export of high-technology industrial products of military and civil purposes. Today it comprises over 663 companies, which form 8 military-industrial and 5 civil industry holdings. Rostec's subsidiaries are located in 60 regions of Russia and supply their products to over 70 countries worldwide. In 2012 revenues of the Corporation amounted to RUB 931 billion, net profits were RUB 38.5 billion and total taxation exceeded RUB 109 billion.