Crosspointe is the first Rolls-Royce manufacturing facility built from the ground up in the United States. Located on more than 1,000 acres, it is the largest Rolls-Royce site by area in North America, with ample space to accommodate suppliers’ and partners’ co-location in the future, according to the company.

Rolls-Royce’ initial investment in the site is $170 million, and the company estimates it will invest $500 million in Virginia over time. Rolls-Royce expects future growth in Virginia to generate 500 jobs, with the first phase of work supporting approximately 140 jobs, according to the company.

“Rolls-Royce is investing in America,” said James Guyette, president and CEO, Rolls-Royce North America. “ … Crosspointe will be a flagship operation for Rolls-Royce, and the significant investment we are making here will enhance our competitiveness in global markets and position us for future growth.”

The first building on site will be a 140,000-square-foot disc manufacturing facility. Discs, the part of a turbofan engine that contains the blades, are considered one of the most critical components of the engine. Discs manufactured at Crosspointe will be used in some of the company’s newest civil aerospace products—the Trent 1000, Trent 900 and Trent XWB— optimized for the Boeing 787, Airbus A380 and A350 XWB, respectively.

Disc production at Crosspointe will begin as soon as the site is operational, currently expected in early 2011.

Plans also are proceeding for the second building on site, a blisk manufacturing facility. Blisks, or bladed discs, incorporating fan blades and discs into a single piece, are designed for use in the next generation of gas turbine engines. Blisks manufactured at Crosspointe will be used in the F136 engine for the Joint Strike Fighter program, according to Rolls-Royce.

“For us, Crosspointe is about growth—about positioning for the future,” Guyette said. “With this new campus in the U.S., we are spreading our capability around the world, getting closer to our customers, growing our presence in key markets and strengthening our ability to manage business continuity risk.”

Campus Will House Research Facility

The Crosspointe campus also will accommodate the Commonwealth Center of Advanced Manufacturing (CCAM), a higher education partnership founded by the commonwealth of Virginia, the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, Rolls-Royce and other partners.

“The vision for CCAM is to become a world-class research facility delivering a step change in design and manufacturing technologies,” Rolls-Royce said.

In addition, the Commonwealth Center for Aerospace Propulsion Systems, a virtual research and technology center of excellence established by the same partners, is closely linked to Crosspointe and CCAM.