Airfoil Services Sdn. Bhd. (ASSB), an MTU Aero Engines and Lufthansa Technik AG affiliate, is going to extend its activities: novel advanced repair techniques and a wider product portfolio will grow the Kuala Lumpur operation's sales, now standing at almost U.S. $5 million, to four times its present level, or $20 million, by 2010. The shop hopes to attract new customers and add more people to its payroll. ASSB specializes in the repair of aero engine blades for mostly MTU's maintenance segment and Lufthansa Technik. 

A new shop will go up and just about quadruple production capacities. Operations will be shifted to the flowline principle of production that is already in place at the two joint-venture partners, where it has already appreciably reduced lead times. ASSB will be repairing high-pressure compressor blades in addition to the low-pressure turbine blades it is doing now, and add the CF34 to its present CF6, V2500 and CFM56 engine portfolio.

Employment will grow from 130 up to 500 employees. Lufthansa Technik and MTU Aero Engines are cooperating with the state-run ADTEC Melaka Advanced Technol-ogy Training Center to provide training for their new staff.

Bernd Kessler, MTU Aero Engines CEO, commercial engine maintenance, explains: "Building our Malaysian joint venture is part of MTU's expansion strategy. The added blade repair capacities will provide our customers with still more affordable repair solutions."

Dr. Thomas Stüger, Chief Executive Product and Services within Lufthansa Technik AG's executive board, notes: "ASSB's expansion is in line with Lufthansa Technik's strategy to build its global Center of Excellence structures in a sustained effort to boost the company's competitive clout in the engine parts repair market."

MTU Aero Engines, with its about 6,800 employees, is Germany's leading engine manufacturer and the world's largest independent provider of commercial engine services. The company has carved out a leadership role in engine technology and closely cooperates with the world's major engine manufacturers.

With its workforce of 24,600 and network of 26 subsidiaries and affiliates, Lufthansa Technik is the internationally leading provider of maintenance and overhaul services for airframes, engines and their various components. In Hamburg, Germany, the group operates the world's largest engine shop outside the U.S. The company fo-cuses on a plurality of major jet engine makes.