Airfoil Services: 20 years of strong partnership between MTU and Lufthansa Technik
- Yearly output of 500,000 repaired engine parts
- Always on the pulse of the latest propulsion technology
Airfoil Services Sdn. Bhd. (ASSB), a 50:50 joint venture between MTU
Aero Engines AG and Lufthansa Technik AG, celebrates 20 years of
experience in airfoil repairs - and successful cooperation of the two
aviation MRO leaders.
For two decades, ASSB has sustained its position as the world-class
leading provider of innovative high-tech airfoil solutions, powered
by the collaboration of its two shareholders. As of 2003, MTU Aero
Engines and Lufthansa Technik teamed up as equal partners in the
Malaysia-based joint venture - underlining their commitment to
strengthening synergies and creating economies of scale.
"With ASSB, Lufthansa Technik and MTU Aero Engines have combined
their technical competencies in a completely complementary way and
laid the ground for jointly broadening repair capabilities and
growing the business," says Dominik Giugno, Managing Director and
Chief Executive Officer at ASSB. The company is specialized in
airfoil repairs for high-pressure compressors and low-pressure
turbines using state-of-the-art processes. The portfolio contains all
major civil aircraft engine types - including CFM International's
CFM56, GE Aviation's CF6-80C2, and International Aero Engines' V2500.
ASSB has benefited from its many years of expertise also in the
introduction of high-quality services for the latest engine types,
such as Pratt & Whitney's PW1000G engine family, Rolls-Royce's Trent
1000, 7000 and XWB as well as Engine Alliance's GP7000.
"We are extremely proud of our technological strength and eager to
extend our portfolio even further", Holger Rosemann, Chief Operating
Officer at ASSB, adds: "The strong cooperation between Lufthansa
Technik and MTU Aero Engines has proven to be a success factor for
both partners. ASSB is progressing very well towards the future, and
we are ready for further growth in the upcoming years." The company
repairs about 500,000 engine parts per year for about 100 customers
worldwide. In March 2023, the mark of 7,000,000 parts delivered in
total was surpassed.
In the last 20 years, ASSB increased its capabilities and business
considerably. Accordingly, the center of excellence for the repair of
airfoils continuously introduced new repair technologies, such as
high-velocity oxygen fuel erosion coating, a thermal process to apply
erosion coating and automated adaptive leading edge re-contouring. In
addition, airfoil repair capabilities for adaptive milling and
automated welding for e.g. CFM56 tech insertion parts enrich the
company's portfolio. In order to boost the operations and provide
additional job opportunities, ASSB almost doubled its production
space and completed a 5,200 square meters expansion of its facility
in 2019. Today, the joint venture counts more than 500 highly-skilled
employees. Furthermore, ASSB is in the process of further expanding
its portfolio through repair development projects for new generation
airfoils.