MTU Aero Engines expands its facility in Poland

MTU Aero Engines is expanding its facility in Rzeszów in the south of Poland: MTU Aero Engines Polska, located in the Polish Aviation Valley, will add a new, 9,200-square-meter building, which will increase the area occupied by buildings by 50 percent. The total investment that will go into the project amounts to some 40 million euros. “The expansion of our Polish affiliate is part of MTU’s investment and growth strategy, very much in the same way as the new blisk production shop we built in Munich and the logistics center we set up in Hannover. With this move, we lay the foundation for the growing production and volume ramp-up for the geared turbofan programs,” explains Egon Behle, MTU Aero Engines AG’s CEO.

At its plant in Poland, which boasts highly advanced production facilities, MTU manufactures engine components, such as turbine airfoils, for the PW1000G family of geared turbofan engines and performs preparatory work. Furthermore, the German engine manufacturer is concentrating its module assembly activities for a variety of its commercial programs in Rzeszów. Another of the shop’s areas of expertise is the repair of engine parts, for example tubes. In the field of development, MTU Aero Engines Polska’s focus is on uncooled airfoils, fixture design, and software. “The expansion of our facility in Poland is the result of an accordant production and sourcing strategy. We consequently utilize our skills and competitive edges for this site,” adds Chief Operating Officer Dr. Rainer Martens. The new buildings will house the shop floors where the work associated with the increase of MTU’s stake in the V2500 for the Airbus A320 will be performed. They are currently being carried out in rented buildings. Moreover, plans are to step up the low-pressure turbine assembly activities and concentrate them in Rzeszów, and to beef up research and development at the Polish plant.

MTU Aero Engines Polska was set up near Rzeszów Airport on a stretch of land seven hectares in size in 2009. Construction work on the new building will commence in the fall of 2013. Production is expected to be up and running in late 2014 and to run at full capacity by 2017. Some 250 new jobs will be created in Rzeszów by 2020 as a result of the expansion; at the moment, MTU Aero Engines Polska has a workforce about 500 employees. The expansion of the Rzeszów-based facility will not affect the headcount at MTU’s German companies, but cover the requirements for the production ramp-up in several of the company’s commercial engine programs.