Samsung Techwin to supply airplane parts to GE

Samsung Techwin Co., the defense and precision machinery unit of South Korea's largest conglomerate Samsung, said Monday that it has signed a deal with General Electric to provide airplane engine parts for the next 10 years.

The deal calls for Samsung Techwin to provide 18 types of airplane engines parts from 2016 to 2025 to the U.S. company, which is one of the world's major airplane engine producers. Samsung Techwin expects the supply deal would translate into around US$430 million in sales.

Its parts will be used in the next-generation LEAP engine being developed by CFM International, a joint venture between GE and France's Snecma with a plan to start commercial production in 2016.

The deal followed a $900 million parts supply deal signed with P&W last November.

Samsung Techwin expects that the new supply deal would serve as a "game changer" for its airplane parts business down the road.

Industry experts expect around 37,000 new airplanes will be introduced into the market over the next two decades, with about 70 percent of them to be mid-sized planes.

Shares of Samsung Techwin closed at 22,850 won ($21.2) on the Seoul bourse, up 6.03 percent from the previous session's close. (Yonhap)