Press release

• Record number of +1300 MRO shop visits, driven by strong CFM56 demand
• Boost in capabilities and capacities with Dallas and Zhuhai expansions

Munich, March 20, 2024 – MTU Maintenance, the world’s leading independent provider of customized maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) solutions for aero engines, has signed off on 2023 with a record number of shop visits, on-going business expansions, and historic milestones within its network.

All-time high in shop visits and MRO-related services business

During the year, the service provider inducted over 1,300 shop visits network-wide, including at its joint ventures. This is the highest number in its history. The volume was largely driven by a growing demand in MRO services for CFM International’s CFM56-5B/7 (+91 percent), GE Aerospace’s GE90-110/115B (+38 percent) and Pratt & Whitney’s PW1100G-JM (+19 percent) engines. The latter was helped by the continued ramp-up of EME Aero, a 50/50 joint venture between MTU Aero Engines AG and Lufthansa Technik in Rzeszów, Poland, which focuses on the maintenance of Pratt & Whitney GTF^TM engines and whose shop visits doubled year-on-year. However, MTU Maintenance’s largest engine program was for International Aero Engines’ V2500 with a 29-percent share of the total shop-visit figure mentioned above, followed by the PW1100G-JM and CFM56 programs with 23 percent and 15 percent, respectively.

“MTU Maintenance’s continued growth is the result of the entrepreneurial attitude and mindset our people bring to work each day,” says Michael Schreyögg, Chief Program Officer at MTU Aero Engines AG. “2023 was the strongest and, at the same time, the most challenging  year in the history of our MRO business. Last year’s accomplishments give me confidence that our on-going and planned projects will bring even further benefits across our network, enabling us to serve both our customers and the strong global demand for MRO.”

New orders primarily for V2500 and GE90 maintenance

The service provider also won a total of $4.6 billion USD in new contracts. Engine MRO alone brought in $4 billion USD of that figure. The largest contributors of new contract wins were the V2500 and GE90 engine programs at 28 percent each, followed by the CFM56 engine program with a 21-percent share of the total volume.

The company continues to grow not only in its core engine MRO business, but also at MTU Maintenance Lease Services B.V., which offers engine leasing and asset management services. In fact, the Amsterdam-based lessor’s revenue increased by 50 percent compared to 2022 figures, driven by a strong recovery in demand for leasing (+35 percent) and robust growth in its asset management service (+54 percent). The current lease pool is comprised of roughly 150 engines and modules. As of January this year, the company also expanded MTU’s SERVICE^Plus portfolio with engine stand leasing. In an exclusive cooperation with leading engine stand manufacturer Advanced Ground Systems Engineering (AGSE^®), MTU now offers a broad selection of engine OEM-approved transport stands for today’s most popular engine models.

Boost in physical footprint and MRO capabilities

The group’s operational expansion of past years continues. Last year, MTU Maintenance Dallas, the network’s main ON-SITE^Plus service hub for North America, relocated to a 41,000-square-meter (440,000 square feet) facility at Perot Field Fort Worth Alliance Airport. The location is ramping up capabilities for a number of current and new generation engines and also boasts a test cell capable of 100,000 lbs of thrust.

The network’s ON-SITE^Plus service, in general, underwent significant developments in 2023. MTU Maintenance Service Australia received Part 145 approval from the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) for the CF34-10E engine and can now perform inspection, repair and modification work, as well as borescope inspections and borescope blending. MTU Maintenance do Brasil, which had been already certified by the Brazilian Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for V2500, CFM56-3/5/7, CF34-10, CF6-80 and GE90 engines, was approved by the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) for the CFM56 engine family.

MTU Maintenance Zhuhai is scheduled to finish construction on its secondary location in Jinwan by the end of 2024, following the completion of an additional test cell in June 2023. This will greatly increase the location’s capacities for its engine portfolio consisting of CFM56, LEAP, PW1100G-JM and V2500 engines and cement it as the largest MRO service provider in the region. In total, MTU Maintenance’s network now employs over 6,000 engine experts spread across four continents.

Other highlights in 2023 included anniversaries at MTU Maintenance Canada, which celebrated 25 years of operations, while MTU Maintenance Lease Services’ marked 10 years since its founding. MTU Maintenance Hannover completed its 10,000^th shop visit in September, while the CF34 engine program at MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg entered its 20th year since introduction.