Arnstadt, 23 February 2024. In presence of the Thuringian Minister of Economics Wolfgang Tiefensee, N3 Engine Overhaul Services (N3) officially marked the start of its expansions with today's ground-breaking ceremony. The joint venture between Lufthansa Technik and Rolls-Royce plc. is massively expanding its building complex. The main construction works that are now beginning include:
- Expansion of the cleaning line for engine components to double process capacity. The state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant that goes with it saves energy and reduces freshwater consumption by up to 90 %.
- Construction of a 6,000 m² extension to the existing production hall to expand the technical machining centres and assembly areas.
Finally, construction of a new logistics building, which will also include automated storage systems, is scheduled to begin in autumn.
The expansion will take place while operations continue and with increasing capacity utilisation.
A future upgrade was already taken into consideration during the planning and construction of the facility between 2005 and 2007 and the areas on the 12-hectare site were planned accordingly. Carsten Behrens, Managing Director at N3, emphasises: "The decision of the parent companies to continue the long-term development of the joint venture values the expertise and extensive experience the team has built up over 17 years with Rolls-Royce Trent engines, including the latest generation of the Trent 1000."
According to Minister of Economic Affairs Wolfgang Tiefensee, who helped open the plant in 2007 as Federal Minister of Transport, N3 has become a permanent part of the Thuringian business landscape in the more than one and a half decades of its existence: "N3 sets standards in terms of quality, reliability and innovative capacity, making it a flagship for Thuringia as a high-tech location far beyond the borders of the federal state. With the expansion of the company here at the 'Erfurter Kreuz', N3 is opening a new chapter in its Thuringian success story. This sends out a strong signal of new momentum, especially in the current economic climate. As an attractive employer, N3 is making a decisive contribution to the creation of qualified jobs. This is a tailwind for our strategy of retaining skilled labour in the region and attracting new talents, also from abroad."
N3 has developed its own professional qualification programme for career changers and has been training its own specialists since the start of operations. The company now has six vocational training programmes in its portfolio. "In order to counter the shortage of skilled labour, we are also expanding our international recruiting measures," says Stefan Landes, Commercial Managing Director of N3. "A welcoming corporate culture is essential for the sustainable development of the location."
With an increase in demand for intercontinental travel since 2022 and the associated high demand for maintenance services for Rolls-Royce engines, the collaboration between the N3 shareholders was taken to the next level with a new joint business plan. This paved the way for an expansion to increase the plant's capacity to up to 250 engines per year in the long term. N3 is investing around 150 million euros in the facility's expansion.
N3 Company profile
N3 Engine Overhaul Services (N3) is the European centre of excellence for the maintenance and repair of Rolls-Royce Trent engines. The joint venture between Lufthansa Technik AG and Rolls-Royce plc. is based just outside Arnstadt, in Thuringia's largest industrial area "Erfurter Kreuz". More than 950 employees, including 25 trainees, service engines for more than 50 international airlines on behalf of Rolls-Royce. The current N3 product portfolio includes the Rolls-Royce Trent 700, Trent 900, Trent XWB, Trent 1000 TEN and Trent 500 engines (serviceability checks, tests on demand). In 2023, 132 engines were overhauled; in 2024, this figure is set to rise by up to 50 per cent.
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