MTU opens its new MRO facility in Serbia

MTU Maintenance Serbia officially opened its new facility in Nova Pazova near Belgrade. The ceremony took place in the presence of Aleksandar Vučić, President of Serbia. In addition, the German ambassador to Serbia, Anke Konrad, as well as representatives of the aviation industry were in attendance. MTU Maintenance Serbia d.o.o. is a fully owned subsidiary of MTU, a leading engine manufacturer and one of the world's largest providers of aircraft engine maintenance services. The site in Nova Pazova will become a vital part of the global MTU Maintenance network and is set up for the repair of engine parts. With its specific high-tech competences, MTU Maintenance Serbia will expand MTU’s piece part repair network significantly.

Aleksandar Vučić, President of Serbia, commented: “When a giant such as MTU decides to expand its capacities and opens a new facility, this also means that our Serbia is changing and developing unstoppably at fast pace. This is one of the most significant German investments in our country, and I’m grateful to our German friends who have recognized the importance of safe investment and business environment they have here. We will continue to work even harder on the development of global standards in terms of business conditions large companies such as MTU need and most certainly deserve. We will justify the trust of German investors by working even harder, in order to take pride in the new achievements in the period to come together.”

Michael Schreyögg, MTU Aero Engines' Chief Program Officer, said: “The additional MRO capacity in Serbia will further improve our strong and flexible network, and boost our ability to offer competitive services in the global market. Just as at all our other sites, customers can count on our consistently high quality and reliability. We also greatly appreciate the excellent support and partnership of the Serbian government. This enabled us to complete the construction in a consequent manner and at an extraordinarily fast pace – for the benefit of our customers and partners.”

“Repair beats Replacement” – this marks a cornerstone of MTU’s maintenance philosophy. Parts repair is both reducing MRO cost and helps to refurbish high-value engine parts. This is key in an environment of tight global supply chains in the aviation sector. Beyond that, parts repair is significantly contributing to sustainability: Compared to producing new components, parts repair saves up to 80 percent of resources such as raw material, energy and production.

The new facility has a size of around 39,000 m2. In the coming years, it is currently planned to increase the workforce to more than 400 employees. In order to prepare the employees in the best possible way, MTU has developed the Aviation Academy in Belgrade into a leading training center for aviation professions together with the Serbian Ministry of Education. The first MTU Maintenance Serbia specialists have already been trained. Moreover, they undergo an intensive on-the-job training at MTU locations in Germany and Poland.

In June 2022, MTU Maintenance Serbia had the final handover of the new building and in July the employees moved into the new facility. Currently, final installation and trials of the state-of-the-art machinery is underway. MTU plans to start operations at the new site in December 2022, only 17 months after the start of construction.