Zhuhai, China, November 14, 2013 – MTU Maintenance Zhuhai, a joint venture between Germany’s leading engine manufacturer MTU Aero Engines and China Southern Air Holding Company, celebrated the MTU Maintenance group’s 1,000th overhaul of a General Electric CFM56. The engine was delivered to the customer China Southern Airlines today. The celebration event was opened by Frank Bodenhage, MTU Maintenance Zhuhai President and CEO, and attended by 90 guests from both companies. After the opening speech the official certificate of the engine, a CFM56-7, was formally handed over to Li Hui, China Southern’s on-site engineer. The airline operates a fleet of 454 aircraft, 200 of which are CFM56-powered. China Southern is Asia’s largest airline in terms of fleet size and number of passengers carried, and the only Chinese carrier ranking among the top ten airlines of the world.
MTU Maintenance Zhuhai was established as a 50-50 joint venture between MTU Aero Engines and China Southern Airlines twelve years ago. Today it is the market leader for engine maintenance, repair and overhaul services in China. The company is part of the MTU Maintenance group, the world’s largest independent maintenance provider for commercial aircraft engines. Last year, MTU Maintenance handled ten percent of all CFM56-7 shop visits worldwide. Moreover, it had an overall nine percent market share for the following CFM56 models: CFM56-3, CFM56-5B and CFM56-7.
MTU Maintenance customers benefit from cost-effective solutions for all engine variants of the CFM56 in the company’s portfolio. For the newer versions of the CFM56, such as the CFM56-5B and CFM56-7, MTU’s philosophy is to repair rather than replace. Over the past three decades, MTU Maintenance has succeeded in building up a one-of-a-kind repair expertise, setting benchmarks with its high-tech repair techniques. Apart from ensuring the most efficient engine part salvation, some of the specialized repair offerings allow customers to keep their engines on wing longer and operate them more efficiently, thus saving both maintenance costs and fuel. While CFM56-5B maintenance is performed in Zhuhai, the CFM56-7 is supported both in Zhuhai and in Hannover, Germany. Just recently, MTU Maintenance Zhuhai added the CFM56-7BE engine variant to its portfolio.
About MTU Aero Engines
MTU Aero Engines, Germany's leading and the country's only independent engine manufacturer, is an established global player in the industry. It engages in the development, manufacture, marketing and support of commercial and military aircraft engines and industrial gas turbines. The company is a technological leader in low-pressure turbines, high-pressure compressors, manufacturing processes and repair techniques. In the commercial maintenance area, MTU Maintenance is the world's largest independent provider of engine maintenance services. In the military arena, MTU Aero Engines is Germany's industrial lead company for practically all engines flown by the country's military. MTU operates affiliates around the globe; Munich is home to its corporate headquarters. In fiscal 2012, the company had a workforce of some 8,500 employees and posted consolidated sales of some 3.4 billion euros. In early March of this year, the company won the German Industry’s 32nd Innovation Award, and in April, it was honored with the German Innovation Award. In both instances, MTU received the recognition for the geared turbofan™ engine’s high-speed low-pressure turbine.
