A Success Story "Made in China": Fifteen Years of Lufthansa Technik Shenzhen
China Aviation Daily | Apr. 27, 2017
It is a German-Chinese success story straight from a textbook: Today, high-ranking guests from politics and public administration joined customers, management and employees to celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of the Lufthansa Technik Group's high-tech Asia Pacific subsidiary, Lufthansa Technik Shenzhen. The celebration took place at the company's workshops at Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport.
Lufthansa Technik Shenzhen was initially founded for the sole purpose of providing regional repairs of difficult-to-transport thrust reversers. Now the company and its roughly 600 employees support customers throughout the Asia Pacific region with component repairs, Airframe Related Components (ARC ), engine part repairs and many different Airline Support Team (AST) services that are provided at customer sites.
The company has extensive know-how, for example in the repair of complex components made of fiber-reinforced composites. This and its state-of-the-art equipment, ranging from a large autoclave to test instruments for latest-generation avionics components, helped Lufthansa Technik Shenzhen become the technology center of the Lufthansa Technik Group in Asia in a very short time. The company also supports numerous customer fleets with component supplies through its own pool warehouse and comprehensive material management services.
Business began in 2002 with 40 employees and a workshop area of 6,300 square meters. The company estimated optimistically that it would employ around 100 people once the development phase was concluded, and planned to repair up to ten thrust reverser halves of the then-common CFM56-3 engine per month. As of April 2017, this joint venture between Lufthansa Technik (80 percent) and Beijing Kailan Aviation Technology (20 percent) has some 600 employees, a good 25,000 square meters of workshops and is looking to grow even further - both in quantity and quality.
"Lufthansa Technik Shenzhen is a prime example within our Group of the long-term success you can achieve through strategic action, cooperative partnerships and great dedication," said Dr. Thomas Stueger, member of the Executive Board at Lufthansa Technik, during the official ceremony. "I congratulate the entire team on this success and am sure that we will reach an ideal basis here for more profitable growth for the benefit of our customers and the region."
"We have great plans for the future," confirmed Detlev Jeske, Managing Director of Lufthansa Technik Shenzhen. "Currently we already offer services for more than 3,000 part numbers, but we intend to add even more. And we will also expand our portfolio of mobile services. Our aim is to become the central point of contact for our customers in every aspect of the reliable technical operation of their fleets." Jeske thanked politicians, administrators, the company's customers and his team for fifteen years of excellent teamwork. "Such successful cooperation is based on high esteem and mutual trust."
During its most recent expansion phase, Lufthansa Technik Shenzhen built facilities to support the latest aircraft types Airbus A350, Boeing 777 and Boeing 787. Among other things, the company invested in another autoclave with a diameter of over five meters to accommodate the large composite-material components used in these aircraft.
Lufthansa Technik Shenzhen has approvals from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), America's Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the responsible aviation authorities of almost all the countries in the Asia Pacific region.