XEOS aircraft engine service center in Środa Śląska in Poland, has now reached its highest construction point. The investment will be completed in December 2018. After the construction work is finished, XEOS facility will undergo a trial operations period, and will become fully operational in the spring of 2019.
XEOS says the facility will be one of the world’s most advanced centers of its type. XEOS joint venture companies, Lufthansa Technik (51%) and GE Aviation (49%), are building a state-of-the-art aircraft engine service center to overhaul GE engines operated by Lufthansa and other airlines as well as cargo operators. The investment value is 250 million EUR. The company says it will employ 600 engineers and aircraft engine mechanics.
“In July last year we turned the first symbolic sod in this very place, which was then an empty space. Today, after barely eight months, we can see the highest construction point of the project, and this is something very tangible,” says Thomas Böttger, CEO XEOS. “The investment is proceeding according to the schedule, and even the weather is in our favor. We are convinced that after our facility is launched, it will become an important point on the MRO world map.”
XEOS will apply innovative technologies to ensure comprehensive maintenance and repairs to cutting-edge engines produced by GE Aviation: GEnx-2B and later on – GE9X, which is scheduled to come on the market in 2019. In addition to disassembly and assembly of engines, there is also a plan for XEOS to have its own engine test facility.
Stefan Schmuck, XEOS managing director of Operations says building a MRO facility is a huge challenge. “All the tiny details have to be executed up to the most stringent quality and safety standards, as it is the airline passenger safety that is at stake. We are proud, because despite strict requirements and a very tight schedule, all is proceeding as planned,” Schmuck says.
The first elements of the specialist equipment will arrive at the facility in the next weeks. In early summer, the finishing work will start. The infrastructure around the facility is also ready – all parking lots, roads and drainage. The green areas will be created at the last stage of the construction work.