Winter 2006/ Spring 2007 Big contract for Ludwigsfelde MTU Aero Engines Holding AG Dachauer Straße 665 ■ Technology + Science ■ Customers + Partners ■ Anecdotes 80995 Munich • Germany Tel. +49 89 1489-0 Fax +49 89 1489-5500 www.mtu.de Lightweight champ goes New sound in the Aviator glasses – from eye into production skies over Neuburg protector to cult object Contents Cover Story Editorial Big contract for Ludwigsfelde 4 - 7 Technology + Science Dear Readers: Promising flight control computer 8 - 9 Lightweight champ goes into production 10 - 11 Unlike some other industries, aerospace is a While we are enthused with our recent long-horizon business reckoning not so much achievements, we are not content to rest on in terms of days and months but rather years our laurels. The pressure is on to verify and MTU Global and decades. Aircraft and engines remain in reverify whether our processes and struc- Big contract for Ludwigsfelde service for decades before they need replac- tures are up-to-date. In aerospace, perhaps Massive order for MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg: ing. Success and the fruits of labor are simi- more so than elsewhere, standing still means German content 12 - 13 Air Wisconsin has the CF34 engines of its CRJ200 fleet larly slow to mature. That is typical also of falling behind. That is why we have begun to repaired by MTU. MTU. Yet the last six months have seen a again scrutinize the company for weaknesses Page 4 number of welcome exceptions to the rule. and potential improvements and have al- Customers + Partners ready initiated first actions. That is the only For one, MTU Maintenance Berlin-Branden- way to remain a major-league player and Lightweight champ burg at Ludwigsfelde has scored the largest offer our customers optimum products and New sound in the skies over Neuburg 14 - 17 goes into production CF34 deal in its history when the respected services at reasonable prices. That basic Research pays dividends: Atlas Air – Call sign: Giant 18 - 19 U.S. carrier Air Wisconsin awarded it a sole- truth has been guiding MTU Aero Engines MTU Aero Engines special- source contract to repair and overhaul the en- from day one and will be motivating it also in ists develop new lightweight gines of its entire 70-unit fleet of Bombardier the years ahead. blade material. Products CRJ200 regional twinjets. Page 10 Next, MTU has managed to contract with Passing grades 20 - 23 General Electric for a stake in the F414 Repair on a rough sea 24 - 25 engine. For us, that is a strategically momen- tous event marking the company’s entry into the lucrative U.S. defense business. Beyond Udo Stark Reports that, we are presently examining our options Chief Executive Officer to expand our foothold in the U.S. military market. Jigsaw puzzle of a thousand pieces 26 - 29 Retired engine, a gold mine 30 - 31 There is good news for the GP7000 engine to power the A380, too. After several program slips, the Airbus mega-transport has made Anecdotes its first GP7000-powered flight. For the en- gine and for MTU, that marks a landmark New sound in the skies over Neuburg milestone on its path to entry into service. Aviator glasses – from eye protector to cult object 32 - 35 Quantum leap at Fighter Wing 74: Eurofighter replaces Phantom, catapulting the military airfield into the next Last but not least, MTU Maintenance millennium. Hannover in Langenhagen has delivered the News 36 - 39 Page 14 first PW6000 production engine. It was Masthead 39 handed over in end-August to representa- tives of our long-standing partner Pratt & Aviator glasses – Whitney. from eye protector to cult object All of this witnesses that we are now har- The fascination of flying: vesting the fruits of strategic decisions we How aviation pioneers made in the past several years. Those fruits triggered new fashion benefit not only the group’s Munich head- trends and aviator glasses quarters but equally its affiliates elsewhere. became everyday acces- sories. Page 32 2 REPORT REPORT 3 Cover Story Big contract for Ludwigsfelde By Silke Dierkes When Kevin Gordon, powerplant operations director at Air Wisconsin, received the test run data from the first CF34 shipped to Ludwigsfelde, he was pleased with the post shop visit performance. Not that Air Wisconsin would have expected otherwise. Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation (AWAC), the largest privately held regional airline in the U.S., has joined the customer list of MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg, awarding the shop the largest CF34 order in its history. The airline contracted to have the CF34-3B1 engines of its entire 70-unit Bombardier CRJ200 fleet repaired and overhauled at Ludwigsfelde. In end-July, the transatlantic cooperation service: “The short turnaround times, highly long-term contract accentuates our stand- MTU’s integrated engine services cover all was cemented with a ten-year contract skilled workforce, great workmanship and ing as one of the leading CF34 maintenance, options from the work in the shop to on- worth 240 million euros. Planned are as the company’s carefree program package repair and overhaul (MRO) providers. In Air wing repair and the leasing of replacement many as 300 shop visits, all to be processed have tipped the scales in favor of MTU.” Wisconsin we’ve won a highly successful air- engines. “We put a high priority on being within MTU’s proverbially short lead times line customer. It has our uncompromising available to our customer around the clock despite the overseas shipping they involve. Carrying six million passengers a year, the support, and we’ll do whatever we can to every day of the year,” emphasizes André airline puts a high priority on reliability and keep it on its successful track.” Wall, president and CEO of MTU’s affiliate at The debut of an AWAC CF34 in the MTU safety. For Gordon, those are the prime Ludwigsfelde. Helping to win the contract shop constituted a grand vote of confi- requirements for the engines. “We’re experi- Jointly with Air Wisconsin, MTU’s mainte- also were MTU’s innovative proprietary dence: Air Wisconsin has already shipped its encing very low removal rates on our nance specialists meticulously crafted a tai- repair techniques. For the new customer, first CF34 to Germany for overhaul without engines,” he emphasizes. Air Wisconsin’s lor-made maintenance concept. “It’s a they were a compelling business case: prior capability test. “I was very impressed engine fleet indeed is one of the most reli- unique mix of various modules that helps us repairing comes a lot cheaper than buying with the workmanship, commitment to able among CF34 operators. All the more minimize exposure to unscheduled repairs pricey replacement parts. excellence as well as the overall engineering reason for the Ludwigsfelde people to wel- and stabilize prices without sacrificing flexi- capabilities at MTU,” says Gordon. Christine come the new shop visitors. Bernd Kessler, bility,” explains Kurt Jensen, MTU’s U.S. The CF34 is one of the practically unchallenged best- selling engines in its class. Globally, several thousand Deister, executive vice president and CFO, president and CEO commercial mainte- sales director for the CF34. CF34s are in revenue service, and thousands again lauds MTU’s firm commitment to superior nance at MTU Aero Engines, notes: “This are still on the order books. 4 REPORT REPORT 5 Cover Story Fan blade assembly requires focused concentration Visual inspections, like the one here made on a Before the engine goes into the test cell, it needs and accuracy. CF34’s compressor, remain an important quality rigging in a special room. assurance tool. At Ludwigsfelde, people are not new to the Bombardier and Embraer jets. Customers August 23 of that year, it started operating business: some 25 customers from across appreciate the engine because of its low from the Outagamie County Regional Airport the globe are shipping their CF34 workhorses noise level and emissions. MTU’s mainte- on the outskirts of Appleton, flying a few for rejuvenation to MTU Maintenance Berlin- nance segment is well positioned to compete DeHavilland Doves to Chicago in neighboring Brandenburg, Air Wisconsin being the first in that growth market. Its engine portfolio in- Illinois. Today, AWAC’s planes take off 500 U.S. airline customer among them to sign up cludes all models of the best-selling engine: times a day on a route network extending for a fleet contract. The North American mar- the CF34-3, -8 and -10. The Ludwigsfelde over the entire Northeastern United States ket is of strategic significance, since this is people have been supporting the CF34-3 and Canada, serving 70 destinations for US where about 70 percent of all CF34 engines since early 2002; for the CF34-8, the fastest- Airways Express. Appleton has since been are flying. The General Electric engine family growing member of the family, they received struck from the route line-up but remains the is among the most popular in its class and repair station authority in 2006, and prepa- company’s headquarters. Air Wisconsin had powers regional and business jets like the rations for the youngest sibling, the CF34-10, come into its own as a regional feeder carrier Canadair CRJ100/200, -700, -900, Chal- are already underway. for United Airlines, for which it still provides lenger 604/605 and Embraer 170/175/ ground services in 21 U.S. cities. Air 190/195. Appleton, Wisconsin-based AWAC is not a Wisconsin’s growth was accelerated by newcomer to commercial aviation. The re- mergers with Mississippi Valley Airlines in On 50-seat aircraft, the CF34 has already gional carrier was established in 1965 as an 1985 and Aspen Airways in 1991.