Tognum to assembly engines in Überlingen

• Pilot assembly of new mtu Series 1600 with up to 150 employees at former Kramer plant
• Municipal council’s building committee favors redevelopment
• Strict requirements for environmental protection

Friedrichshafen/Überlingen, December 1, 2008. The first series-production engines of the new mtu Series 1600 will be assembled in Überlingen at Lake Constance. As of January 1, 2009, the Tognum subsidiary MTU Friedrichshafen will rent for a limited period the former Kramer plant in Nussdorfer Strasse, Überlingen, where it will set up a pilot assembly plant for the new engine series. The building committee of the Überlingen municipal council decided in favor of the project in its public meeting on Monday, December 1.

The site of the Kramer plant will at first continue to be used as a business park. MTU Friedrichshafen will install an assembly line for the series production of its new engine series in the existing factory buildings, where wheel bearings were produced until recently. As far as possible, use will be made of the existing facilities – parts of the paint shop for example, which will now operate with environmentally friendly water-based paint.

The pilot assembly operation in Überlingen is limited until the end of 2012, with the possibility of an extension until the end of 2013. The first pre-series engines are to be assembled in the middle of 2009 and series production is scheduled to start in October. Up to 150 employees are to be employed at the pilot assembly plant as the number of engines assembled increases. It is planned to start with one-shift operation, changing to two shifts running from 6 a.m. until 10 p.m. as output rises. It is not intended to operate on Saturdays or at night.

All parts and components will be produced outside the new assembly plant and delivered by truck. The assembled engines will also be transported from the site by truck. In 2009, approximately eight trucks per day are expected to be required according to current planning. As production volumes rise, approximately 32 trucks per day will be in use by the year 2012. The number of trucks entering and leaving the site will thus be significantly lower than during the site’s previous operation.

Four expert reports show that no deleterious effects on the environment are to be expected and that the prescribed noise limits will be complied with at all times. Emissions of nitrogen oxides and particulate matter will be significantly lower than the limits regarded as relevant by the German Technical Instructions on Air Quality. The exhaust gases from the soundproofed test-bench container will be released through a new chimney, which according to those instructions will have to be 28 meters high. The visible part of the chimney above a height of 14 meters will have an external diameter of approximately 50 centimeters and will fit into the surroundings unobtrusively. The emissions from the site will be much lower than previously. In the future, the aim is no longer to carry out hot testing of all engines, i.e. actually burning fuel. Experience will be gained in Überlingen with so-called cold tests, in which the engines are driven by an electric motor for test purposes and thus do not produce any exhaust emissions.

- End -