SIR JOHN ROSE, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF ROLLS-ROYCE PLC, OFFICIALLY OPENS TWO NEW ROLLS WOOD GROUP FACILITIES IN ABERDEEN

Sir John Rose, Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce plc, visited Aberdeen-based Rolls Wood Group (Repair & Overhauls) Ltd (“RWG”) on Thursday 25th March 2004 to officially open RWG’s newly constructed gas turbine repair and overhaul facilities, one for Rolls-Royce Avon gas turbines and the other for Rolls-Royce RB211 gas turbines.

The official opening ceremony also marked the re-opening of RWG’s Component Repair facility, which was destroyed by fire in October 2002, in existing RWG premises in Aberdeen, plus the incorporation of the company’s Rolls-Royce 501K gas turbine overhaul activities into its Aberdeen facility.

RWG is a 50:50 joint venture between Rolls-Royce plc and John Wood Group PLC (“Wood Group”). The company operates as part of Wood Group’s Gas Turbine Services division and provides maintenance, repair and overhaul services for Rolls-Royce Avon, RB211, Olympus and 501K industrial aero-derivative gas turbines used in the global power generation, oil & gas, industrial and marine markets.

Sir John Rose, Chief Executive of Rolls-Royce plc, said: ”We are proud of our continuing association with Scotland, and the Rolls Wood Group joint venture, established in 1990, has been and will continue to be an important part of our activities.”

The new state-of-the-art 33,500 sq ft Avon facility is the largest in the world for the overhaul of Avon engines. The new 40,000 sq ft RB211 facility enhances RWG’s RB211 capability, by providing increased capacity to support both the standard RB211 engine plus additional activity being generated by the DLE (dry low emissions) version of the engine.

Sir Ian Wood, Chairman & Chief Executive of Wood Group, said: “Rolls Wood Group has a long-standing reputation as a world class provider of maintenance services for Rolls-Royce industrial products. Investing in these new facilities demonstrates our ongoing commitment to delivering the highest levels of support to users of Avon and RB211 engines worldwide.”