- Start of construction of modern, sustainable facility
- 60 million euros to be invested in Germany
- 130 workplaces secured in Frankfurt

Start of construction of Lufthansa Technik AG’s new wheel and brake
workshop at Frankfurt’s East Harbor.

Dr. Johannes Bussmann, Chairman of the Executive Board of Lufthansa
Technik AG, turned the first sod together with Bernhard Massberg,
Head of Mobility, Aviation, Railways in the Hessian Ministry of
Economics, Energy, Transport and Regional Development (HMWEVL) and
City Councilor Markus Frank, Frankfurt’s Economic Affairs Officer as
well as Karl Ulrich Garnadt, Member of the Board of Lufthanas Group
and CEO of Lufthansa German Airlines.

The company is investing just under 60 million euros in the new
production facility, which fulfills all requirements for lean
production, an ergonomic working environment and sustainability in
terms of how the building has been developed and will be operated.
The planned building technology will enable the requirements of the
Energy Saving Ordinance to be exceeded by 30 percent. A separate
combined heat and power plant, for example, will be constructed for
this purpose. Even the waste heat from the machines will be used
intelligently for air conditioning the building.

The new facility will be put into service at the beginning of 2017.
It will enable Lufthansa Technik, as the world’s leading provider of
technical services for the aviation industry, to continue to grow in
the segment of wheel and brake overhaul. Lufthansa Technik is thus
securing the 130 qualified jobs that already exist in Frankfurt and
is also creating opportunities for further growth. The most recent
figures showed growth rates at more than 3 percent per annum based on
the volume of serviced wheels and brakes.

An ultra-modern workshop with a gross floor area of 14,500 sqm will
be built on a 35,000 sqm plot. Thanks to optimized processes fully
adapted to maintenance requirements, tailored logistics and
state-of-the-art plant equipment, the new site enables the
cost-effective supply of wheels and brakes for flight operations for
Lufthansa and numerous other European customers into the future. And
while business with low-cost carriers is already strong, it opens up
opportunities for even further growth in this area too.

Dr. Johannes Bussmann, Chairman of the Executive Board of Lufthansa
Technik AG: “Even today we operate one of the largest maintenance
workshop for aircraft wheels and brakes anywhere in the world. We
expect even more efficient processes under excellent working
conditions with the new facility, which we are quite intentionally
building in Frankfurt, Germany. I am certain we will succeed in
growing from the current figure of 26,000 serviced wheels and 4,500
serviced brakes annually to 32,000 and 6,000 units respectively in
the coming years.”

Bernhard Massberg, Head of Mobility, Aviaton, Railways in the HMWEVL:
“The aviation industry is of great economic importance for the
Rhine-Main region and for the whole of Hesse. Deutsche Lufthansa AG
is the largest employer in Hesse. The range of services offered by
the Lufthansa Group is tremendously diverse as we can see here.
Especially in what are seen as very challenging times economically
for airline companies, the regional government welcomes the
commitment of Lufthansa Technik, which through its investment here in
Frankfurt will secure the existing 130 jobs and potentially lead to
further growth. Likewise welcome is the intention to establish and
operate the production facility with particular attention to energy
efficiency.”

The existing workshop at Frankfurt airport has long exceeded its
capacity limit, having been designed originally for 15,000 wheels and
2,500 brakes annually.

Considerable effort is invested in the maintenance of aircraft wheels
and brakes owing to their importance for the safety of aircraft
operations. Lufthansa Technik takes care of all the necessary work –
from wheel or brake changes to small repairs or complete overhauls of
a wheel or brake. Every wheel or brake passes through numerous
stations until, after a thorough check in accordance with
internationally applicable aviation laws, it is approved in the final
inspection.