N3 Engine Overhaul Services with an update to the expansion programme during operation

Attractive employer: team to grow by a further 200 specialists - popular career changer programme

Construction: First plant sections largely completed by the end of 2025

Production: record year 2024 to be surpassed again in 2025


Arnstadt, January 21st 2025 - The expansion programme of N3 Engine Overhaul Services (N3), the joint venture between Lufthansa Technik AG and Rolls-Royce plc. for the overhaul and repair of Rolls-Royce Trent aircraft engines, is continuing at full speed. "Several records were broken in 2024 - in terms of operational performance, the development of our workforce and the future development of our company," says N3 Managing Director Stefan Landes. "Thanks to an impressive final spurt by the team in the last quarter, we were able to achieve our highest number of engine overhauls in one year to date with 155 overhauled engines." Following the groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion of the factory building in February 2024, work on the construction site has progressed rapidly, with the first parts of the building expected to go into operation at the end of 2025.

Overview of construction activities in 2025

  • The topping-out ceremony for the  factory building extension and cleaning line for engine parts takes place in spring. The building sections are to be handed over for operation at the end of the year.
  • At the same time, 40 new machines and systems will be installed and existing ones relocated. This work will continue until 2026.
  • Construction of the logistics building with high-bay warehouse and delivery centre will start in the 3rd quarter with a construction period of around one year.
  • All office areas are being remodelled according to a new, open-plan office concept - the first teams will be moving into their new workspaces in the coming days.
  • In the middle of the year, the canteen will be remodelled and this section of the building will be extended to include modern and flexible meeting rooms.

"An expansion programme of this magnitude during ongoing, even growing operations is an extraordinary challenge for our company and is only possible because all employees are extremely committed to it," explains Managing Director Stefan Landes.

Engine overhaul requires many professionals

In addition to the expansion of the company complex, capacity utilisation is to be increased by a further 20 percent compared to 2024 and 185 engines are to be overhauled. To achieve this, N3 still needs new skilled workers and is continuously recruiting. In addition to the seven vocational trainings offered, the company also relies on its tried-and-tested aviation technology career changer programme, preparing specialists from outside the industry for work at various technical stations of engine overhaul. In recent years (2022 to 2024), more than 250 people have completed this programme. With the number of employees exceeding 1,000 in 2024, up to 200 more positions are to be filled again in 2025. "We offer attractive and modern working conditions for our growing team in an industry of the future. We are growing against the current trend," Stefan Landes emphasises. "With an investment of more than 150 million euros, we are developing our site at Erfurter Kreuz into a beacon of engine maintenance and one of the most attractive employers with appeal beyond Thuringia."

In order to improve the attractiveness of Thuringia as a business location for international professionals, it is important that federal and state policy initiate measures such as the easier recognition of foreign educational qualifications and a targeted visa issuing structure. "We are becoming increasingly international", says Stefan Landes. "With the training of the first two young adults from Vietnam as warehouse logistics specialists, we are breaking new ground here and are delighted they have been well accepted into the team." People from more than 28 nations now work at N3.

Overview of the 2025 qualification programme for career changers

Prerequisites:

  • Completed vocational training
  • Technical affinity and manual dexterity
  • High level of commitment and reliability as well as teamwork and communication skills
  • Strong quality awareness and an independent, structured way of working
  • Willingness to work shifts and weekends
  • Basic knowledge of MS Office
  • Basic knowledge of English
  • Duration: 6 months

Procedure:   

  • 12 weeks of training at various locations in Thörey & Erfurt.
    • 4 weeks of English training, aviation law, safety training, quality training, engine technology, human factors and much more
  • 12 weeks of training at the N3 plant
    • supported by specially qualified tutors in the technical areas

Overview of vocational training at N3

Vocational training 2025: around 20 training positions as

  • Aircraft Mechanic Specialisation in Engine Technology (m/f/d)
  • Specialist for Warehouse Logistics (m/f/d)
  • Materials Tester Specialisation Metal Technology (m/f/d)
  • Mechatronics Technician (m/f/d)
  • Further information: https://www.n3eos.com/en/company/career

Background information Extension N3 Engine Overhaul Services

xDREAM growth programme: ramp-up of production to the possible maintenance of 250 engines per year

N3 Engine Overhaul Services celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2022. Before the pandemic, in 2019, the company was already overhauling 150 engines and was on a growth trajectory to build up more capacity, particularly for the Trent 900 and Trent XWB engine types. In 2021 and 2022, N3 suffered a one-third decline in orders. The Trent 700 and Trent XWB engines got N3 through the crisis, and thanks to the team's good crisis management and the support of the German government in utilising short-time working, N3 was able to maintain its workforce. In spring 2022, N3 switched from crisis to growth. After 15 years of successful collaboration, the parent companies Lufthansa Technik AG and Rolls-Royce plc. agreed to intensify their cooperation and commitment in Thuringia and granted permission to expand the N3 site. This includes the expansion of the plant building and the construction of a logistics centre on the company premise. To implement this, N3 launched its comprehensive xDREAM growth programme in 2022.

N3 short profile

N3 Engine Overhaul Services (N3) is the European centre of excellence for 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". Around 1,100 employees, including 41 trainees, service the engines of more than 50 international airlines on behalf of Rolls-Royce. The current N3 product portfolio consists of the Rolls-Royce Trent 700, Trent 900, Trent XWB, Trent 1000 TEN and Trent 500 engines (serviceability checks, tests on demand).


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