mtu Opens New Training Center

• Important element of the globalization strategy of mtu
• Systems competence of service organization strengthened
• Capital expenditure of over 7 million

Friedrichshafen - On November 19, MTU Friedrichshafen officially opened its new training center. The new premises will be used for training mtu's own customer service mechanics, professional service staff of the company's 1400 sales and service partners worldwide, and representatives of end customers. The new center is also the central training location for the instructors, leading courses at mtu's nine training facilities in Europe, USA, Asia and Africa, who will be tested and certified annually by the parent center.

The upgrading of the service area, above all for maintenance, is very important to the company. Dr. Rolf A. Hanssen, mtu Chief Executive Officer and head of DaimlerChrysler Off-Highway, clearly emphasized the great importance of well organized customer service: "Service is an operative business. Our end customers demand the highest possible availability of their drive systems and installations. The better geared we are to this, the greater are our competitive chances." At the same time, mtu is extending its value-creation chain through its service-oriented profile among its customers: "Today we are increasingly offering comprehensive services, if desired in the context of a service agreement with corresponding transfer of know-how".

In the course of its long-term globalization strategy, mtu is further extending its global profile with new subsidiaries, most recently in France, Japan and South Africa. In the service area this is complemented by decentralized training facilities. In addition to the headquarters in Friedrichshafen, further mtu training facilities have also been built and upgraded recently, for example at mtu South Africa, mtu Turkey, as well as at sales and service partners in Spain and Norway. mtu France and MTU Detroit Diesel Australia are also planning to upgrade their training areas. According to Franz Stadelmann, Head of Service mtu / DaimlerChrysler Off-Highway, these measures, along with the construction of the new building in Friedrichshafen, will further strengthen these sites: "Competent training is the only thing that can enable service personnel to give the professional maintenance to the engines and drive systems and therefore to achieve optimal operating results throughout their entire service life".

Systems competence of service organization strengthened

The new training center has 14 experienced instructors who are responsible for the training and supervision of service mechanics and who give them the required technical maintenance skills for the company's engines and drive systems. The center is equipped for intensive training in small groups in five languages of up to 90 participants at any given time and has a capacity to train a total of over 2000 service employees per year. The courses last between three days and six weeks, depending on content. All servicing levels are covered, from the routine checks to the complete overhauling of an engine (W1 to W6). In contrast to other engine manufacturers, mtu develops and manufactures the key components for low emission high-economy engines - injection systems, engine electronics and turbochargers - itself. Correspondingly important is the integral training of the customer service employees in these components. For the first time, the training courses for electronics and mechanics are unified under one roof in the training center. In this way the mechanics learn to work with wrench and laptop in equal measures. Today the laptop is part of the standard kit of every mtu mechanic, since it is required for checking and adjusting the engine's electronic system.

However, the training concept extends even further, because in contrast to its competitors, alongside the engines themselves, mtu also offers complete drive and propulsion systems which, as in the case of ships, include other components in addition to the engines, such as the electronic propulsion control, transmission, cooling and exhaust systems. Franz Stadelmann underlines the importance of the training center for the successful use of this competitive advantage: "With the new training center we will strengthen our system competence in the service area. The systems know-how cultivated in the development and project planning departments can now be passed on to customer service even more effectively than before." An example of this is the electronic drive system "Blue Line", which is available to participants in the training courses. The system, which consists of shift levers, displays, buttons, cables and various electronics modules, cannot be serviced without competent knowledge.

Capital expenditure of over 7 million

With an investment volume of over 7 million and a construction time of one year, mtu has created the new training center as a facility whose generous layout allows optimal conditions for engine and electronics training courses. A long-range 70-meter-long and 20-meter-wide training workshops with 14 engines forms the core of the building. In addition, there are simulation rooms for electronics training, twelve training classrooms, laboratory rooms with injection and control test benches, a presentation room, a media room and a cafeteria. The center has all required modern training facilities, housed in an area of almost 3500 square meters.