MTU Maintenance, the MRO division of MTU Aero Engines AG, has secured over US$3.7bn in contract wins in 2017, an impressive US$1.5bn more than in 2016, making 2017 the most successful year of the company in its history yet.
In addition to significant contract wins, the MTU Maintenance network of facilities carried out over 1,000 repair and overhaul shop visits in a single year, taking the total number of visits performed to well over 18,000 in 2017. Of these, over 300 visits were for the V2500 engine family and 125 were for the CF34 family. Further highlights were achieved at MTU Maintenance Hannover, which has just superseded the 8,000th shop visit mark, and MTU Maintenance Canada, which introduced the V2500 line to its facility.
In light of the high volumes already entering MTU Maintenance’s shops and the global engine MRO growth trend, MTU is expanding capacity and employing new staff at all facilities. “In particular, we will further invest in our Chinese facility,” says Michael Schreyögg, Chief Program Officer, MTU Aero Engines. “Its capacity of 300 shop visits per year is to be expanded by another 50% again within the coming years so as to keep up with local market growth, the fastest in the world, as well as to accommodate any new programs in due course.”
Additionally, a new joint venture announced in December named Engine Maintenance Europe, or EME Aero for short, had been founded with Lufthansa Technik. According to current plans, the facility will be operational in 2020 and will have an annual capacity of over 400 shop visits. It will service the PW1000G-series geared turbofan engines as part of the OEM network.
MTU Maintenance Lease Services B.V., operating out of Amsterdam, Netherlands, more than doubled sales in 2017 versus 2016. The young and successful start-up has welcomed over 60 new lease and asset management customers and nearly doubled its pool of lease engines. In 2018, the company will be focusing on technical engine asset management services as well as flexible MRO and asset management solutions for asset owners and operators.
Airfoil Services (ASSB), a joint venture between MTU Maintenance and Lufthansa Technik, also had a successful year in 2017. Repair volume increased by around 35% year on year. Growth was down to strong demand for CFM56 blade repairs and continued strong volume in V2500 blade and vane repairs. Furthermore, ASSB started repairing LPT and HPC blades for GP7000 engines last year and is a single source supplier for these components. Alongside MTU and LHT business, third party work makes up 36% of ASSB’s business.
Within the MTU Aero Engines AG, the commercial maintenance business achieved the highest growth rate in terms of revenues in 2017, having increased by 19% to €2,285.3m (2016: €1,914.4m). The company’s revenue forecast for its commercial maintenance business (MRO segment), expressed in U.S. dollars, is for a growth rate in the high teens in 2018.
