Company provides top-notch service
MTU Maintenance Zhuhai is dedicated to providing Chinese, Asian and other customers worldwide with repair, overhaul and maintenance services and engineering support for V2500 and CFM56-3/-5/-7 series engines.
With a total investment of $189 million and occupying a 156,000-sq-m area, MTU Maintenance Zhuhai is a joint venture between MTU Aero Engines and China Southern Airlines.
MTU Aero Engines is Germany's largest engine manufacturer, headquartered in Munich, and provides individually tailored service packages via its engine maintenance, repair and overhaul affiliates in Germany, Canada, China and Malaysia.
Based in Guangzhou, China Southern Airlines is China's largest carrier.
"We are an international company with German and Chinese roots," said Walter Strakosch, CEO of MTU Maintenance Zhuhai. "The Chinese aviation industry has the highest growth rate in the world. In order to be successful in this fast growing market one requires to be present in China. We cannot afford to lose 10-15 days for transportation and customs. Time is money."
MTU Maintenance Zhuhai helps reduce costs and shorten turn-around time for China Southern and other Chinese and Asian airlines.
Strakosch said the Zhuhai shop overhauled or repaired more than 120 engines in 2006, earning revenue worth $140 million. More than 20 percent of its business came from outside China, from countries like Singapore, Australia and Pakistan. This year, the shop received its initial batch of engines for overhaul from Saudi Arabia and South America, and recently got several from the United States as well.
Strakosch said he was satisfied with the administration of the Zhuhai Free Trade Zone and the local government of Zhuhai.
"As one of the four special economic zones in China, Zhuhai has direct access to the central government in Beijing," said Strakosch, "When we started our business abroad, we encountered problems coming up with the 'export license' for sensitive goods. Engines we brought to China for overhaul needed an 'export license' to be sent back to the owner. With the full support of the administration of the Free Trade Zone and the local government of Zhuhai, this problem had been solved in Beijing."
MTU Maintenance Zhuhai started operations in November 2002.
It has been certified and approved by the CAAC (Civil Aviation Administration of China), Europe's JAA (Joint Aviation Authority) and FAA (Federal Aviation Authority) of the United States, as well as the airworthiness bureaus of Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam, and other organizations.
The Zhuhai shop currently conducts business with 15 countries. It expects to repair 200 engines annually and boost that number to 300 in the near future.
The driving force behind the organization is its highly motivated team of professionals with more than 380 Chinese employees and 5 expatriates from different countries.
Employees of MTU Maintenance Zhuhai repair an aircraft engine in the shop. |
"To operate transferred technology properly is a must in our business. Our well-trained staff guarantees the same quality standards as in Germany. A highly motivated staff embedded in our corporate culture makes the difference," noted Strakosch.
Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao visited MTU Maintenance Zhuhai in 2004 and 2005 respectively and showered high praise on its outstanding achievements.
Strakosch came to visit the Zhuhai Airshow in 1988 and has been in love with this beautiful coastal city ever since. He was the national Friendship Award Laureate of 2003. As an honorary citizen of Zhuhai, he considers Zhuhai his second home.
He believes that: "It is not enough to transfer technology and make business in China. We should also bring people from China and Germany together."
Along with his German friends, who share the same sentiments, he organized piano and jazz converts in 2004, and a beer festival in 2005.
In view of the Beijing Olympic Games coming up in 2008, Strakosch said: "We are thinking about organizing a sports event."
(China Daily 05/24/2007 page27)
