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Aviation History
1993
1993 - 0023.PDF
in civil and military aerospace programmes. As part of DASA cutbacks, MTU is to shed 1,000 existing jobs over the next two years and some 650 staff are already on a reduced working week. With the euphoria surrounding re-union long gone and the new economic realities setting in, the staff and unions at MTU plants in western Germany will not be inclined to support the transfer of work to the east when their own job security is at risk. It is a problem of which MTU is acutely aware. In re gions such as Bavaria, where MTU has its headquarters in Munich, there is a visible resentment over the side- effects of re-unification. Along with maintaining air force and army aviation corps equipment from Western manufacturers, MTU Lud- wigsfelde also carries out maintenance work on equip ment which has been inher ited from the former East German armed forces. The site maintained the Iso- tov TV2 and TV3 free-turbine turboshaft engines for the Mil Mi-8 Hip transport and Mi-24 Hind attack helicopters. Mi-8s have been retained, although Koch says these are being "flown down." Koch says that up to eight will be retained for VIP transport, with Ludwigsfelde continuing to carry out engine maintenance. Where the Mi-24 is concerned, MTU has not been so lucky. The German army air corps, having evaluated the Hind, decided not to keep it in service. MTU is looking to exploit its ex-East German reservoir of expertise in Soviet- designed engines. "We needed to get agree ment from the Russian manufactures for the repair of the TV2 and TV3 at Ludwigsfelde, and we also have a stores consignment here," says Koch. MTU is working to win engine-maintenance contracts with other TV2 and TV3 users, and an agreement with the engine manufacturers has been reached to cover this. Along with offering support for the TV2 and TV3 engines, MTU Ludwigsfelde is considering supporting the Klimov RD-33, which is fitted to the German air force's 24 Mikoyan MiG-29 Fulcrums, inherited from the ex-East German armed forces and still very much in service. The site also has experience in the maintenance of the Mikoyan MiG-21 en gine, the Klimov R-13 turbojet. MTU con sidered trying to harness this expertise, but the need for Government clearance to carry out third-party maintenance work for for eign military customers made this im practicable. Ironically, the plant is indeed working on the R-13, but only to destroy 140 engines removed from aircraft which are to be scrapped under the Conventional Forces Europe arms-reduction treaty. Despite the recession and the parlous state of eastern European economies, the CSC's general manager, Friedrich Gothsche, is also "...looking at the Eastern European market. There will be business for the type of aircraft engines we maintain," he insists. He recognises, however, that this market is not going to mature overnight. In addition, he sees an untapped potential market in offering maintenance services to general- aviation users, citing Aviall as an example of this in the USA. ALLIANCE BENEFITS Ludwigsfelde is benefiting from MTU's alli ance with P&W, the two companies having inaugurated their CSC officially on 20 October. Discussing the establishment of the CSC, which it set up with Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC), Gothsche says: "With the existing alliance between MTU A PT6A gearbox is mated to a gas generator (left); Ludwigsfelde will test all CSC engines (above) and P&W and with MTU having a 50% share in the CSC, it was obvious the headquarters should be in Germany." The two companies had been looking at the MTU sites at either Munich or Hanover as the location for the CSC. With re unification, however, Gothsche says that they decided to take advantage of the financial incentives being offered by the German Government to invest in the "East". It was also politic for a lead ing German company to be seen supporting the Govern ment's drive to direct invest ment eastward. ADDITIONAL SITES From P&WC's point of view, the CSC is proving effective, so the company is planning to establish additional main tenance sites on these lines. It is considering developing its Singapore site as a CSC. The Ludwigsfelde develop ment is an equal joint ven ture between the two companies, specialising in the maintenance of P&WC's range of small turboprop/ turboshaft engines, such as the PT6 and PW200, and turbofans such as the JT15D and PW300. The first PT6A arrived at the site to be overhauled in July and the first JT15D in November, when European Joint Air worthiness Approval certification was granted. US Federal Aviation Administra tion certification will follow early in 1993. June 1993 will also see the introduction of maintenance capability for the PW300. The target turnaround time for maintenance is 45 calendar days or fewer, says Gothsche. The CSC will cover Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, with two additional sites in the UK — at Portsmouth and Farnborough — although Ludwigsfelde will be the CSC's European headquarters. In operating the CSC, MTU and P&W have gone for as flexible a structure as possible. This is an inevitable requirement because of difficulty in predicting the work load, with MTU waiting to see how success ful it is in gaining maintenance work for the TV2 and TV3. Investing in eastern Germany is a gamble. So far, the players have been unfortunate in that German re-unification was followed shortly by the beginnings of a recession in Germany, which may see growth fall to between 0.5% and 1% for 1993. Koch is aware that MTU's main aim will be to keep Ludwigsfelde occupied. "Present planning will keep the workforce as we have," he says. While growth is desirable, for Lud wigsfelde it is viewed as a distinctly long- term aim. Koch believes that it will take between four and six years to reach a stable, predictable growth rate. f| FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 6 - 12 January, 1993 21
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