Centrax was founded in 1946 by Richard H H Barr OBE and the late Geoffrey R White. The pair created the company after working with the celebrated RAF officer and engineer Sir Frank Whittle in the pioneering team who developed the jet the early years Centrax manufactured its own industrial gas turbine, the CS-600. But in 1979 the company signed an agreement with Rolls-Royce to package the 501 gas turbine.