LATEST: €28 million investment announced for Kildare

A €28 million investment has been announced for County Kildare.

Lufthansa Technik Turbine Shannon (LTTS), the Irish subsidiary of Lufthansa Technik AG, has officially opened its new Mobile Engine Services (MES) facility in Celbridge.

The state-of-the-art facility has been established for the service and repair of engines for airline and aviation leasing companies from Ireland and across the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) region.

The new custom-built operation already employs 30 personnel, with plans to more than double this number to 65 within the next two years as the business grows.    

Commenting on the announcement, An Tánaiste Leo Varadkar TD said: "This is a significant and very welcome investment announcement by Lufthansa Technik, which will double its number of highly skilled jobs.

"It’s great to see the aviation sector growing again."

He continued: "This new MES facility in Kildare is strategically located to service aircraft engines for organisations across the EMEA region. 

"Lufthansa Technik is a longstanding and significant employer in Ireland, and is prominent in the Shannon cluster.

Michael Malewski of Lufthansa Technik, Minister of State Dara Calleary at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Sonya Kavanag,h CEO of Kildare County Council, and Ray O'Connor, IDA Ireland

"This news is particularly welcome given the challenges faced by the aviation sector during the pandemic and it is encouraging to see this level of investment as we look to the future."

An Tánaiste concluded by thanking Lufthansa Technik for its 'continued investment in our country' and wished the new Kildare team luck in its future endeavours.

The MES operation is a 3,500sqm facility and in addition to repairing and servicing aircraft engines from its base in Celbridge, a technical team can be deployed to a customer site anywhere in the world to carry out the necessary work.

This project is supported by the Irish Government through Industrial Development Agency (IDA) Ireland. 

Speaking at an event to mark the official opening of MES Celbridge, Michael Malewski, the CEO of LTTS said: "The aviation industry is rebuilding at pace following the significant impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the sector, and our business is focused on supporting our customers by growing our own capabilities and product offering. 

"Today’s announcement is good news for the aviation sector and good news for Ireland, as we actively look to invest in and expand our operation with more recruitment underway for both technical and administrative staff."

With support from the IDA, Lufthansa Technik and its Irish subsidiary, LTTS have been building towards the opening of this facility since 2020.

Interim CEO of IDA Ireland, Mary Buckley said: "Today’s announcement by LTTS to open this new multimillion euro facility in Celbridge is very good news indeed.  

"The decision demonstrates the company’s confidence in the availability of a skilled and talented workforce in the region. IDA Ireland remains committed to winning jobs and investment in regional locations."

"I wish LTTS continued success," she added.

The event was also attended by Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Dara Calleary TD who said: "I am delighted that Lufthansa Technik has committed to a €28 million investment in Kildare to establish a new aircraft engine repair operation in Celbridge.

"The state-of-the-art facility highlights the importance of our EU membership and geographical location and the investment will provide for additional skilled jobs in the locality, which is very welcome, and I know that there is a wealth of talent available in the area to fill these positions.

"I wish Lufthansa Technik continued success with this new exciting chapter and with their already significant presence in Shannon."

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BACKGROUND

Lufthansa Technik AG has had a presence in Shannon since 1992 and already employs 252 people in the region at LTTS, which specialises in the repair of components for specific aircraft engine types. A further 24 technical support personnel are located at the company’s offices in Dublin.

The official launch of MES in Celbridge increases Lufthansa Technik’s engine bay capacity to ten, providing enhanced capabilities and facilities to customers in Ireland and across the EMEA region from its MES hubs in Ireland and Frankfurt.

Lufthansa Technik provides worldwide maintenance, repair and overall services for aircraft, engines and components.

Ireland is now part of a network of five MES stations with the others located in Montreal (Canada), Tulsa (Oklahoma/USA), Frankfurt (Germany) and Shenzhen (China).