All around the world MTU sites are involved in the successful GTF engine. Each location brings its own unique strengths to the table.
author: Isabel Henrich | 6 mins reading time | updated on: 22.04.2026
author:
Isabel Henrich
studied political science and communications. At MTU, she coordinates the editorial process of AEROREPORT and is responsible for the conception and development of its content.
Since the first flight of a GTF engine on an Airbus A320neo in early 2016, the geared turbofan has evolved into one of the most successful propulsion systems in the single‑aisle segment. The GTF is regarded as the most fuel‑efficient engine in its class, delivering up to 20 percent lower fuel consumption and a noise footprint reduced by up to 75 percent compared with the previous generation. Worldwide, the engine family has amassed over 13,000 engine orders and commitments from more than 90 customers worldwide, and over 50 million flight hours in service.
Depending on the application, MTU’s share of the GTF™ engine family is between 15 and 18 percent: in addition to responsibility for the high-speed low-pressure turbine and the first four stages of the high-pressure compressor, MTU also manufactures brush seals and nickel blisks for high-pressure compressor components, for which it does not have development responsibility. Moreover, MTU is responsible for the final assembly of one-third of the production PW1100G-JM for the A320neo. Development work on key GTF components is being carried out at MTU in Munich, in Rzeszów and at MTU Aero Engines North America.
MTU Maintenance has more than 45 years of experience and expertise in the independent MRO business and benefits from a broadly diversified engine portfolio. A total of five MTU sites offer MRO services for the PW1100G‑JM. MTU Maintenance Zhuhai, EME Aero in Poland, and MTU Maintenance Hannover even provide full disassembly, assembly, and testing capabilities. Collectively, these three MTU shops carry out a third of all GTF engine shop visits annually worldwide, and service all variants of the GTF family: PW1100G-JM, PW1500G and PW1900G.
The expertise distributed across multiple sites offers a distinct advantage: each location contributes its own specific strengths, enabling MTU to provide customers and partners with the highest possible level of service.
Here we present six sites and the part they play in making the geared turbofan such a success:
PW1100G-JM final assembly: Since 2016, the Munich site has handled final assembly for one-third of the production PW1100G-JM engines.
It was more than 20 years ago at MTU Aero Engines’ technology hub, together with its partner Pratt & Whitney, that the first ideas for a geared turbofan were born. Today, MTU’s Munich facility manufactures the high-speed low-pressure turbine, several stages of the high-pressure compressor in blisk design, and brush seals developed in-house for all GTF engine family members. In addition to carrying out parts repairs, since 2016 the site has also been responsible for final assembly of one-third of production PW1100G-JM engines, supported by a track-guided assembly system.
At the same time, the team in Munich is working intensively on further advancing the GTF. In February 2025, the GTF Advantage™—the latest member of the engine family—received FAA type certification for operation on the Airbus A320neo family, followed by EASA certification in April 2026. MTU contributes its development and technology expertise in key areas, ranging from optimized high‑pressure compressor blades and new coatings to a further‑developed low‑pressure turbine with an improved active clearance control system that delivers even higher efficiency. The GTF Advantage provides four to eight percent more takeoff thrust, enabling greater range and higher payload.
The Rzeszów site has been an integral part of the GTF program since its early phases. It supplies high‑quality components and supports the program throughout its entire life cycle—from development and series ramp‑up to ongoing production.
In 2015, engineers in Rzeszów began assembling the first low‑pressure turbine for the PW1100G‑JM, the engine powering the Airbus A320neo. Ten years later, the site reached a major milestone with the delivery of the 5,000th low‑pressure turbine for GTF engines.
Full capabilities: Hannover is one of three locations that has full disassembly, assembly and test capabilities for the PW1100G-JM.
As the heart of the Maintenance Group and MTU’s first maintenance facility, the MTU site in Langenhagen is indispensable for MRO services for GTF engines, too. Many years of expertise and a breadth of know-how gained through various engine programs (includ-ing the V2500, GE90 and CF6) provide the necessary MRO experience and skills. MTU Maintenance Hannover offers the full range of disassembly, assembly and test capabili-ties for the PW1100G-JM engine.
The workforce in Hannover had to prepare for the PW1100G-JM in a hurry. But that was no problem for these engine experts: thanks to their many years of MRO experience, the company was ready for the new engine program in next to no time. The employees received strong support from Ludwigsfelde, too: a team from MTU Maintenance Berlin-Brandenburg provided valuable GTF know-how in the form of a PW1100G-JM crash course. Today, the site ranks among the key pillars supporting GTF shop visits world-wide.
As a joint venture with China Southern Airlines, MTU Maintenance Zhuhai is a key element of the GTF network in Asia. Since the first PW1100G‑JM shop visit in 2021, the site has con-tinued to expand steadily. In spring 2025, a new facility was opened in Jinwan, around 20 kilometers away, dedicated exclusively to the maintenance of PW1100G‑JM engines. Once fully ramped up, the facility will be capable of overhauling up to 260 engines per year. Like Hannover and EME Aero, the Zhuhai site is equipped with full disassembly, assembly, and testing capabilities for PW1100G‑JM engines.
GTF specialists: EME Aero is one of the world’s largest MRO shops for the GTF family and is specialized in this modern engine.
As one of the world’s largest MRO shops for the GTF engine family, the joint venture between MTU and Lufthansa Technik forms the core of MTU’s GTF network. PW1100G‑JM engines have been overhauled at the site since January 2020, followed by the PW1500G in August 2021 and the PW1900G from 2023 onward.
With a flowline specifically designed for the site, EME Aero operates one of the most advanced assembly systems in the global engine MRO industry. Specialists from MTU’s production and plant services organization in Munich worked closely with the EME Aero team to develop a standardized assembly and tooling concept for the different engine types within the GTF family.
In 2025, EME Aero reached further major milestones: the 1,000th engine was inducted, and a second test cell was commissioned—laying the foundation for the target of 500 scheduled overhauls per year from 2028 onward.
The MTU site in Ludwigsfelde has been involved right from the outset. This is where individual stages of the PW1100G-JM’s high-pressure compressor and low-pressure turbine are repaired. In 2020, it added the PW1500G and the PW1900G. As true repair specialists, the experts in Ludwigsfelde are the only company in the global market to provide the full range of repairs for the low-pressure turbine and the second stage of the high-pressure turbine.
This location had already procured the required repair facilities back when its application to become a repair site for GTF engines was still being processed—a not entirely risk-free strategy, but one that proved its worth: this proactive effort secured the contract for the repair work and means that to this day, the site is an expert in MRO services for the GTF family.
