MTU Maintenance Zhuhai has opened a new engine maintenance training center in China with capacity to train up to 100 people annually.

The center will focus on engine maintenance and specifically the areas of professional training in disassembly, assembly and repair services. Trainees who complete full training will be deployed at MTU Maintenance Zhuhai shops. 

Located at its Zhuhai base, the newly constructed, three-story building will house 10 stations equipped with whole engines, engine modules and practice tables.  

The MTU Aero Engines-China Southern Airlines joint venture offers services for CFM International’s Leap 1A and -1B and CFM56-5B/-7B engines, as well as International Aero Engines’ V2500-A5 and Pratt & Whitney’s GTF PW1100G-JM engines.

MTU Maintenance Zhuhai broke ground on the training facility in March 2022 and originally had planned to commence operations in early 2023. At the time of the announcement, it said it was targeting the training of 50-100 mechanics annually.

“It is of utmost importance to MTU to secure a steady influx of well-educated technical personnel and, with this center, we are ensuring that for both our existing and new locations as we grow,” says Gert Wagner, president and CEO of MTU Maintenance Zhuhai. “This training center is a key element of our strategy to remain a top-level employer and service provider in the region’s aviation market."

In addition to its existing maintenance facility and the new training center, the company is building a second engine disassembly and assembly facility in the nearby Jinwan district of Zhuhai. First announced at the end of 2020, the facility will operate as MTU Maintenance Zhuhai Jinwan Branch. The new plant will initially have capacity for 260 maintenance procedures, focusing on PW1100G-JM and V2500 engines. It will commence operations in 2025.

Earlier this summer, MTU opened a second test cell at the Jinwan site, which has 60,000-lb. of thrust.