Arnstadt, 8 December 2022. N3 Engine Overhaul Services (N3), the joint venture between Lufthansa Technik AG and Rolls-Royce plc. for the overhaul and repair of aircraft engines, is now authorised to maintain Boeing 787 “Dreamliner” engines. The Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA) granted N3 the approval to work as a maintenance organisation (Part 145) for large engines of the type Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 TEN.

This operating license allows N3 to expand its product portfolio with a fifth engine type. This will help satisfy the growing demand for maintenance services for Rolls-Royce Trent engines and also provides the basis for further expansion projects at the site, located on the outskirts of the Thuringian municipality of Arnstadt. Going forward, service capacity is to be increased from the current 160 engines per year to at least 250 engines per year in the coming years.

N3 Managing Director Carsten Behrens (CEO of N3 since April, representing Rolls-Royce) emphasises: “With the operating license for the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 TEN engine, we are securing our future by expanding and increasing our capacities. As a result, we will be able to react with greater flexibility to future maintenance and repair demand concerning Rolls-Royce Trent engines and, thanks to our efficiency and reliability, we will continue to establish ourselves in the overhaul network of our parent companies.”

The new engine type in the N3 portfolio also marks the entry into the Boeing world for the company. Until now, N3 has only looked after Trent models used in Airbus aircraft.

N3’s 15th anniversary and plans for the future

This year, in April, N3 Engine Overhaul Services celebrated its 15th anniversary as well as numerous milestones in its history. When N3 went into business in 2007, the company was initially only licensed to overhaul and repair Rolls-Royce Trent 500 engines. Over the years, the Rolls-Royce Trent engine types 700, 900, XWB 84-K and now 1000 TEN were added. The company has overhauled more than 1,400 engines in the 15 years since it opened its doors.

However, the effects of the coronavirus pandemic were initially still being felt in 2022. Due to an easing of restrictions globally, international air traffic picked up again in the first quarter and N3 was able to end short-time work in all areas of the company as early as March.

Stefan Landes, Managing Director of N3 since 2020 (representing Lufthansa Technik/Lufthansa Group) helped guide N3 through the pandemic: “Corona demanded a lot from all of us, and I have a lot of respect for the performance of our employees, who did their utmost to ensure that we were able to master this challenge together,” he recalls. “This global crisis has cemented the resilience and strength of our company and that of our employees. With this experience behind us, we are facing up to the ambitious goals and challenges of the coming years,” Landes continues.

This is because the two parent companies Lufthansa Technik AG and Rolls-Royce plc. are intensifying cooperation and involvement in Thuringia and have launched extensive plans to expand the location. This includes the expansion of the factory building and the construction of a logistics centre on the company premises, with work expected to be starting in the second half of 2023. These expansion plans and the increasing workload are of course accompanied by an increased need for skilled workers. With the new edition of the long-established aeronautical qualification programme for specialists from outside the industry and far-reaching personnel recruitment measures, the workforce at N3 is expected to grow to over 1,000 employees in the coming years. The company has already recruited more than 100 new employees this year and currently has 800 personnel including 28 trainees.