English - MTU Onsite Energy

A tognum Group Brand 

MTUreport 

The magazine of the MTU and MTU Onsite Energy brands I Issue 01 I 2012 I www.mtu-online.com 

High aspiration 

How turbochargers make such a difference 

Cheers! 

CHP modules and the art of beer brewing 

More than engines 

The importance of IT for support services

Editorial 

Joachim Coers, Chairman and CEO 

of Tognum AG and Chairman of 

MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH 

Dear Readers, 

What with electricity generator sets in Turkey and Ethiopia, dump trucks in South Africa, fire tenders 

in Brazil or research vessels in the USA, one thing becomes abundantly clear as you turn 

the pages of this issue of MTU Report – the Tognum Group and its core brands, MTU and MTU 

Onsite Energy, are becoming increasingly international with an ever widening product portfolio. 

The once small, South-German diesel-engine maker based on the shores of Lake Constance, 

that sold its products primarily to the German Railways and the German Army, has turned into a 

globally-trading manufacturer of drive systems and energy plants. We now generate 85 percent 

of our revenue outside Germany and our range of products extends from diesel engines through 

complete propulsion systems to diesel generator sets and combined heat and power modules 

driven by gas engines. And we haven't finished yet, by a long chalk. Our new majority shareholders, 

Daimler and Rolls-Royce, are integrating the Bergen engine operation with its mediumspeed 

diesel engines and lean-mixture gas engines into our group of companies. Furthermore, 

the takeover of Bavarian genset manufacturer Aggretech increases the breadth of our localized 

energy plant business. Our production is becoming more international by the year as well. We 

have long since moved on from manufacturing and assembling only in Friedrichshafen and now 

have ten production facilities spread around the globe. Next year we will be opening a factory in 

Poland where we plan to make components for our 

Series 2000 and Series 4000 engines. 

But the foundation of our business, now as ever, is development. Our aim is to remain the 

leaders in technology. That is why we invested 215 million euro in research and development 

last year – more than ever before. We want to make our engines even more economical and 

efficient – as our clients demand. A decisive contributor in that regard is the turbocharger. Our 

founder, Karl Maybach, developed his first turbocharger for one of his engines 50 years ago. 

Today, MTU engines are inconceivable without turbochargers. They give the engines their 

distinctive character and contribute substantially to economy and emission characteristics. 

Turbos are so important that we have made them the cover story of this issue. 

Enjoy reading this issue of MTU Report. And I hope you will be inspired by the fascinating 

stories about the uses of our engines and energy systems all over the world. 

Best regards 

2 I MTU Report 01/12

04 

18 26 

Contents 

32 36 42 

50 

02 Editorial 

Technology 

Development 

04 High aspiration 

Turbochargers not only look impressive, 

they also give each engine its own unmistakable 

character as well as influencing its 

efficiency and emissions signature. 

12 News 

Action 

Oil & Gas 

18 Submerged treasure 

Demand for oil and gas is rising but the 

remaining reserves are deeper and deeper 

below the oceans. So new technologies 

are constantly required to locate, extract 

and distribute fossil fuels. 

Industry 

24 The extinguishers 

Brazil plays host to the Football World Cup 

in 2014. In preparation, the country is not 

only redeveloping its international stadia; 

it is also investing billions in improving the 

airports. 

Front cover: A macro-image of the compressor 

wheel from a turbocharger shows the level of precision 

machining needed to produce an engine component 

capable of withstanding the pressure at 

98,000 revolutions per minute. 

Mining 

26 Platinic affair 

Vehicles powered by MTU engines 

extract platinum at the Modikwa Mine in 

South Africa. 

Marine 

32 Invades from the deepth 

The research vessels Kaho and Muskie 

protect the ecological equilibrium of the 

Great Lakes in northeastern USA. 

Energy 

36 Cheers! 

Two modular CHP plants at the Durst Malz 

malting works dry out the malt for use in 

beer brewing. 

42 Energy sights 

An MTU guide to the Turkish capital, 

Istanbul. The tour starts from the ferries 

that cross the Bosporus and ends 

at the offices of the telecommunications 

provider Turk Telekom. 

Spectrum 

After-sales 

50 More than engines 

Interview with an MTU Service Manager 

in which he reveals his aims, the latest 

trends in support services and what fascinates 

him about his job. 

MTU Report Europe 

Industry 

54 The tale of the Tiger and the Mouse 

Beasts of burden: the Tiger beet harvester 

digs the beets out of the ground before 

the Mouse loader deposits them in a truck. 


58 River current 

A massive dam is under construction 

in Ethiopia that will eventually supply 

15,000 gigawatt-hours of electricity. But 

until it is finished, the building site needs 

just that – electricity. Gensets driven by 

MTU engines fill the gap. 

Development 

62 Internal flight 

A 3D fly-through inside a rail engine explains 

the technologies that make MTU 

diesel engines clean and efficient. 

63 Talking of... 

MTU Report 01/12 I 3

Technologies that make a difference: turbochargers 

Aesthetic lines. Sculpted forms and contours, finely crafted details, glittering surfaces 

– it looks so good you could almost hang it around your neck on a chain. No, we are 

not talking about an expensive piece of jewelry, it’s the impeller from a turbocharger. 

When engine developers get onto the subject of turbochargers, their eyes glaze over as 

they effuse adoringly about what they call one of the engine’s most important parts. 

Are they right? 


Development 

It isn’t easy for a diesel engine. To start, it first 

has to get its flywheel moving, a large steel disc 

that takes a while to set in motion. Only when 

that is going, do things start to happen. But then 

all the more so, because that is when the turbochargers 

come into play. Inside a few milliseconds, 

they suck in air, compress it and blast it 

into the combustion chamber. 

“The turbochargers are what give our engines 

their power,” says Ronald Hegner, who leads the 

MTU turbocharger design team. And he quickly 

adds that, much more than that, “They give the 

engines their unmistakable character, and affect 

their economy, dynamic response and emissions.” 

A lot for a single engine component to 

be responsible for. And reason enough to take 

a closer look at this key contributor. 

What exactly makes the turbocharger what it 

is? Put simply, the turbocharger is the engine’s 

lungs. It gives it its athletic power and makes 

sure that performance can continually be improved 

without increasing cylinder capacity. That 

is because the turbocharger pumps the air into 

the engine’s combustion chambers. The better 

it does so, the more oxygen there is available for 

combustion. More oxygen means more 

of the fuel can be burned. And more complete 

fuel combustion means higher power output. So, 

in short, the actual purpose of the turbocharger 

is to draw in as much air as possible, compress it 

and deliver it to the engine. And the best part is, 

to do so, the turbocharger effectively uses “waste 

energy”. Thirty percent of the energy contained 

in the fuel is simply expelled into the atmosphere 

as exhaust. So it makes perfect sense to utilize 

that energy for turbocharging. It is the flow of exhaust 

that drives the turbocharger’s turbine. On 

the opposite side of the turbocharger and rigidly 

attached to the turbine by a common shaft 

is the impeller with its aerodynamically shaped 

blades that draw in air and force it under pressure 

through the intercooler and into the cylinders. 

So is the familiar expression “to fire up the turbo” 

the right way of describing what you do when 

you need to put your foot on the gas? No, you 

don’t fire up the turbo, it is actually the other way 

around. The turbocharger “fires up” the engine by 

giving it a boost of extra power. “The turbochargers 

are among the engine’s key components. 

They are so decisive that whenever higher specific 

requirements and more power are demanded 

we always develop and produce them ourselves,” 

Hegner recounts. 

The geometry of the impeller is 

decisive for the characteristics 

of the engine because it is the 

impeller that forces the air into 

the engine. 


The main components of a turbocharger 

are the turbine and the impeller. They 

are mounted on opposite ends of a common 

shaft. The turbine is driven by the 

thermal and kinetic energy of the exhaust 

from the engine. On the opposite 

side of the turbocharger, the aerodynamically 

shaped blades of the impeller draw 

in air and force it under pressure through 

the intercooler and into the cylinders. 

Want a poster of this picture to put on 

your wall? Then complete our “Tell us 

what you think” survey. See the inside 

front pages for more details. 

You can also download the image from 

http://bit.ly/ArnnGL 

Design 

diversity 

Speed of rotation 

…revolutions per minute is the speed at which 

the impeller of an MTU Series 2000 turbocharger 

spins around its own axis. Blindingly fast compared 

to the 2,450 rpm of the crankshaft. But 

even though that figure is impressive, the speed 

of rotation is not the decisive factor. Much more 

important is the peripheral velocity. If the impeller 

were rolling along the ground, it would travel 

virtually 600 meters in one second. That is more 

than twice as fast as a commercial airliner. By that 

reckoning, an impeller could travel the distance 

from the Earth to the moon in only one week. Of 

course, such speeds place enormous stresses on 

the materials. So the MTU developers use threedimensional 

computer modeling to simulate the 

airflow and mechanical structure loadings on the 

turbocharger from an early stage in the design 

process. 

…different turbocharger models are developed and 

manufactured at the MTU lead facility in Friedrichshafen. 

The different engine sizes alone make variations 

in turbocharger design necessary. But even 

within a design series, the developers adapt the 

turbochargers to the specific requirements of the 

individual applications. Thus electricity generator 

engines, which are run constantly at the same 

speed, need a different turbocharger setup than 

vehicle engines. Because, unlike a generator engine, 

a vehicle engine is not run constantly at one 

speed but rather over a wide range of speeds. It 

has to deliver high performance from idling speed 

right through to maximum revs. The challenge in 

that is to dimension the turbocharger exactly for 

the type of use. Therefore, for engines for mobile 

applications, MTU has designed the turbochargers 

to deliver sufficient boost pressure while covering 

as broad a range of engine speeds as possible. The 

variable parameters in design development are features 

such as the pitch of the turbine and impeller 

blades or the size of the housings. 


Development 

Sequential 

TUrbocharging 

...turbocharger groups are used on the 20-cylinder 

version of the Series 1163 marine engine. 

Each group consists of a high-pressure 

turbocharger and a low-pressure turbocharger. 

When the vessel is only moving slowly and the 

engine speeds are correspondingly low, the boost 

pressure is generated by only one of the turbocharger 

groups. As speeds gradually increase, 

the other turbochargers are brought successively 

into action. They then provide sufficient mass air 

flow and pressure for higher engine speeds and 

power outputs. Using the principle of sequential 

turbocharging, the various turbochargers can 

be matched precisely to their specific operating 

range. Especially in the case of highly dynamic 

applications such as yachts – which demand fast 

acceleration – that is a decisive aspect. Ships 

can accelerate extremely quickly with this engine 

as there are large amounts of intake air available 

right from low power levels. 

The turbine and the impeller spin 

around their own axis at a speed 

of 98,000 revolutions per minute. 


Surface 

TEMperature 

…degrees Celsius (1562° F) is the surface temperature 

of the turbine housing on a military 

vehicle engine when the turbo is spooled up to 

maximum speed. To stop it overheating at such 

temperatures, it is made of ultra heat-resistant 

material. “For turbos that are subject to especially 

high thermal stresses, we even make the 

impellers out of titanium,” explains production 

manager Wilfried Kempter. On some turbocharger 

versions, the impeller housing is water cooled to 

prevent the surface temperatures getting too hot. 

On turbochargers used in marine applications, 

the turbine is also housed in a water-cooled 

connecting block. 

History 

...is the number of years MTU has been developing and producing 

its own turbochargers. The Maybach Type MD 650 diesel was the first 

of the company’s engines to have a turbocharger developed in-house. 

Though the first turbocharged fast-running large-scale diesel engine, the 

Maybach GO6, was developed nearly 80 years ago by Karl Maybach, founder 

of Maybach-Motorenbau, the company from which MTU originated. In 

those days, however, the turbochargers were not made by Maybach but 

were supplied by the Swiss manufacturer Alfred Büchi. 

Boost pressure 

…bar is the air pressure inside the turbocharger. It doesn’t sound 

a lot when you think that a tire on a racing bicycle is inflated to as 

much as 11 bar. “Although higher boost pressures are entirely conceivable, 

it doesn’t make sense because the components would then be 

overstressed,” explains MTU developer Ronald Hegner. And, of course, 

the boost pressure is not the same for every engine. “It is one of the 

variables we can adjust to fine-tune the turbochargers to suit their applications,” 

Hegner adds. 

Every impeller that leaves 

the MTU production plant 

is examined for cracks on 

a special machine. 


Development 

The impeller heats up the air so 

much when compressing it that 

it has to be cooled down again 

in the intercooler. 

Intercooling 

...degrees (518° F) is how hot the intake air 

gets when it is compressed by the turbocharger. 

But hot air takes up more space than 

cold air. So to deliver more air, and therefore 

more oxygen, to the engine, an intercooler lowers 

the air temperature to about 50 degrees Celsius 

(122° F). In a two-stage intercooling system there 

are even two intercoolers. The first is positioned 

between the low-pressure and the high-pressure 

turbocharger. That means the high-pressure turbo 

is supplied with cooler air and can compress 

it further. 

Cars 

...is the number of years since the first car with a 

turbocharged diesel engine appeared on the market 

in 1978 – and so a much shorter time than 

in the case of commercial vehicles. However, the 

Mercedes 300 SD was sold mainly in America. 

In Europe, the “turbo-diesel” didn’t make a breakthrough 

until the mid-1990s. But once established, 

the turbocharger and direct fuel injection 

gave the diesel engine an entirely new image. No 

longer was it the dependable but sluggish and 

noisy commercial vehicle engine – it was transformed 

into a fuel-efficient and punchy performer. 

To be able to withstand the 

enormous stresses, some impellers 

are even made of titanium. 


Durability is also essential 

here: The thrust 

bearing takes the forces 

acting on the turbine and 

compressor wheels. 

…-stage regulated turbocharging is MTU’s ans-wer 

to the constantly lowering limits for the emission 

of soot particulates and nitrogen oxides. Instead 

of the intake air being compressed and delivered 

to the combustion chamber in a single stage by 

a turbocharger as before, it now passes through 

two turbocharger stages. First of all, the air is 

precompressed by a low-pressure turbocharger, 

then cooled by an intercooler before being further 

compressed by a high-pressure turbocharger. 

Controlled by an engine management 

system developed by MTU itself, this regulated 

turbocharging system ensures that the engine is 

always supplied with the same amount of air even 

when there is a lot of backpressure. Because 

higher backpressure is one of the side-effects of 

Two-stage turbocharging 

using emission-control technologies such as the 

Miller process, exhaust recirculation and diesel 

particulate filters. To put it simply, the turbocharger 

then has to force more air into the combustion 

chamber to provide the same amount of 

oxygen for combustion. In many cases, singlestage 

turbocharging is no longer capable of 

doing so. 

The first MTU engine to feature regulated twostage 

turbocharging is the new Series 4000 rail 

engine unveiled in 2010. With a cooled exhaust 

recirculation system and a diesel particulate filter, 

it meets the EU Stage 3B emission requirements 

in force from 2012. Regulated two-stage 

turbocharging is also definitely planned for 

future versions of the Series 1600, 2000 and 

4000 engines in other mobile applications such 

as construction and mining vehicles. For static 

applications such as electricity generators in 

which the demands on turbocharger dynamic 

response are not so high, the more economical 

single-stage turbocharging will continue to be 

used. 

The turbine and 

im-peller have to fit 

precisely inside the 

housing so that there 

are no pressure losses. 


Development 

Production 

Time between overhauls 

…hours is how long the turbocharger on an MTU 

rail engine can be run before it needs servicing. 

That is nearly three years even if the engine runs 

24 hours a day. On vehicles that have a very 

dynamically variable load profile, however, the 

turbochargers have to be serviced more frequently 

because the frequent load changes subject 

the materials to extreme stresses. Durability is a 

key consideration from the early stages of turbocharger 

development. They are analytically 

optimized using efficient computer modeling and 

simulation tools long before they are first tried 

out on the test bench. To simulate the structural 

and mechanical stresses on the turbo, for instance, 

the developers use methods such as 

three-dimensional computer modeling. 

…employees produced 7,600 turbochargers at 

MTU in 2011. “In recent years we have completely 

replaced the production machinery,” Wilfried 

Kempter relates, going on to explain that the special 

expertise was in the geometry of the turbine 

and impeller blades. The minutest changes can 

result in significantly less air being delivered to 

the combustion chamber. On some types of turbocharger, 

the geometry is even variable. That 

enables the power delivery and response characteristics 

of the turbocharger to adapt better 

to the engine operating conditions. The exhaust 

passes over adjustable guide vanes to the turbine 

blades so that the turbine spools up 

quickly at low engine speeds and subsequently 

allows high exhaust through-flow rates. Another 

important consideration is that the turbine and 

impeller have to fit precisely inside the housing. 

“We are talking about manufacturing tolerances 

measured in microns,” Kempter emphasizes. 

The gaps between the turbine housing and the 

turbine wheel must be absolutely exact if the air 

is to be used efficiently. 

Words: Lucie Dammann; Pictures: Robert Hack 

To find out more, contact: 

Roland Hegner, roland.hegner@mtu-online.com, Tel. +49 7541 90-2502 

More on this... 

...watch a video showing the function 

of the turbocharger on the engine. 

Dont't have a QR code reader? 

Go to http://bit.ly/GQzSjn 

ONLINE 


News 

Tognum CEO Joachim Coers talks about the cooperation 

between Daimler, Rolls-Royce and Tognum. 

“A great opportunity” 

Tognum’s new majority shareholders, Daimler and Rolls-Royce, own around 99% of the 

company’s shares. What changes have taken place since the takeover? 

First, the make-up of the Supervisory Board has changed. On the investors' side, Daimler and 

Rolls-Royce now have three representatives each. Our operative business is moving forward in 

parallel at full power and we have formed 15 working groups to drive forward the transition process. 

These have identified opportunities and projects, some of which are already being implemented. 

What sort of opportunities are involved here? 

We are looking at every area, from joint development through purchasing to production and sales. 

Expansion of our product range is also on the cards with the planned integration in the Tognum 

Group of medium-speed diesel engines and lean-mix gas engines from Bergen Engines. 

Which joint projects are already underway? 

In terms of concrete projects, Rolls-Royce is currently preparing the engine rooms of eight different 

offshore vessels so that MTU gensets can be precisely integrated in Rolls-Royce-designed ships. 

Initially they will generate on-board power with medium-speed diesels from Bergen providing the 

main propulsion. In the defense sector, we want to work together to meet the wishes of some of 

our customers on indigenous production. And we are already jointly producing quotations with 

Rolls-Royce for emergency power supply systems for atomic power stations. 

What changes will customers see? 

For one thing, as I just mentioned, our product portfolio will be wider. We are also looking at where 

we can expand our sales and service network in conjunction with Rolls-Royce. We want to offer our 

customers more products and more support at more locations throughout the world. 

What are your personal impressions of the cooperation between Tognum, Daimler and 

Rolls-Royce? 

I think it is very open and oriented toward achieving results. Innovation, quality and solutions for 

customers are cornerstones in the success of all three companies. And cooperation offers all three 

companies a great opportunity to move things forward. 


The Tognum Group is to erect new production facilities in Stargard Szczeciñski in Poland, where in future Tognum’s subsidiary, MTU Polska, will manufacture 

components for MTU engines. 

New plant in Poland 

The Tognum Group is building a new facility 

in the western Polish town of Stargard Szczeciñski 

to extend its European production and 

development capacity and is investing over 

€90 million euros in the project. The first components 

for MTU engines are scheduled to be 

produced at the plant from the second half of 

2013. Together with production plant, the company 

is also building R&D facilities for mechanical 

and electronic engine components in 

Poland. In addition, Tognum is investing a similar 

sum in the lead plant in Friedrichshafen 

whilst a $40 million extension for the US plant 

in Aiken is also planned. 

“We expect to grow faster in future than 

the market. This will be due primarily to our 

new drive systems, which feature low fuel consumption 

and reduced emissions, in addition 

to long service life and extremely high performance,” 

said Dr. Ulrich Dohle, the member of 

the Tognum Executive Board responsible for 

Technology & Operations and Deputy Chairman, 

at a press conference in Warsaw. “With 

the expansion of our production capacity in Poland, 

therefore, we are creating a fundamental 

requirement for the growth we expect in the future, 

because our existing production facilities 

in Germany, the USA and China will not be enough. 

The new plant in Poland is also a key element 

of our global expansion strategy,” Dohle 

emphasised. 

From the middle of 2013, production output 

from the future plant in Stargard Szczeciñski will 

primarily include crankcases, cylinder heads and 

large-volume parts for Tognum’s MTU brand Series 

2000 and 4000 engines. They will be delivered to 

the assembly lines of the lead plant in Friedrichshafen 

(Germany) and to the plants in Aiken (USA) 

and Suzhou (China), where engines, drive and propulsion 

systems and energy systems are manufactured 

for the Tognum Group. In addition, Tognum 

is expanding its development capacity to Poland, 

where engineers and designers will develop and 

test engine components and electronic modules 

manufactured in the new plant that will be earmarked 

for engine control and automation systems. 

The first employees from Poland will be involved 

in preparing the site and erecting the plant. By the 

time the plant becomes fully opera-tional in 2015 

as scheduled, the Tognum Group will have increased 

its workforce to over 200 employees. 

The prerequisite for meeting the schedule is 

that all approvals from the relevant authorities are 

granted within the required timeframe. MTU Polska, 

the Tognum subsidiary that has since been 

formed, has already purchased a 20 hectare site 

for the erection of the plant near Stargard Szczeciñski. 

The tremendous potential that is avail-able 

in terms of specialists and the proximity to logistics 

hubs, such as major seaports, are two 

key location factors that speak in favour of Stargard 

as the new location. 

“The future plant is an important part of 

our global production network, which will subsequently 

become even more tightly knit and 

more flexible,” said Dohle. Tognum’s Friedrichshafen 

location, which is the largest in 

the network, has a key role to play, but offers 

only limited possibilities for further expansion. 

“Friedrichshafen will remain our lead plant for 

the key areas of research, development and 

production,” said Dr. Ulrich Dohle, CTO of 

Tognum AG, most emphatically. “Relocating 

part of our production to Stargard will create 

space on Lake Constance that will enable us to 

expand the remaining production and assembly 

lines.” 

Hamburg 

Germany 

Friedrichshafen 

Szczecin 

Stargard 

Szczeciñski 

Berlin 

Poland 

Czech Republic 

MAP 


News 

Navantia builds ships as well as producing MTU Series 396, 956 

and 1163 marine diesel engines under license in the Spanish 

city of Cartagena. This will also be the location for a new training 

center planned jointly with MTU. 

Joining forces 

with Navantia 

The Spanish shipbuilding company Navantia has signed a 

long-term strategic cooperation contract with MTU. The 

agreement widens the existing collaboration and further 

strengthens the long-established business relationship 

that the two companies have cultivated for 40 years. 

To complement the existing licensing contracts for the 

marketing and production of MTU Series 396, 956 and 

1163 marine engines, a shared training center is to be 

built. Located in Cartagena, the new center will provide 

training for MTU and Navantia clients, staff of Navantia 

and MTU Iberica, and service agents who maintain and 

service the engines. The two corporations are also planning 

to offer Navantia customers a maintenance concept 

covering the entire life of a ship. MTU will support the 

scheme through its customer service solutions for propulsion 

systems and its existing worldwide service network. 

Two multipurpose vessels belonging to the Dutch shipping company 

Smit Boskalis are each being fitted with two 12V 4000 M33S and two 

16V 4000 M33S Ironmen generator sets. 

Power of the iron men 

Tognum Asia is supplying eight power generation modules 

incorporating MTU Series 4000 “Iron Men” engines to the 

Chinese corporation Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industry Co. 

Ltd. (ZPMC). They are to supply electricity for two 99-meter 

multipurpose vessels owned by the Dutch company Boskalis, 

which has one of the largest and most modern fleets in the 

world. Each ship will be equipped with two 12V 4000 M33S 

and two 16V 4000 M33S “Iron Men” gensets that supply 

7,000 kWe in synchronous operation. “Low fuel consumption 

and economi-cal servicing costs make the Series 4000 “Iron 

Men” one of the most cost-efficient engines in the world. The 

MTU “Iron Men” gensets also meet the latest IMO emissions 

regulations – with-out compromising on power or performance,” 

sets out Wouter Hoek of MTU Benelux, in explanation 

of the client’s choice. “Iron Men” engines can also be used 

either as main diesel propulsion units or to drive generators as 

part of diesel-electric systems. 

Paradise patrol 

Safe and serene. The coast of Mauritius will soon 

be guarded by a patrol boat with propulsion and 

automation systems supplied by MTU. 

To make Mauritius a safer place, the island nation’s government 

has ordered a new patrol boat. All of the ship’s propulsion system 

components will be supplied by MTU. The Type 20V 4000 

M93L engine and the Callosum automation system are made 

in Friedrichshafen. The new coastal craft will start 

service in 2014 performing search and rescue 

duties, providing logistical support for the 

outlying islands of Mauritius and taking 

part in police operations against 

smuggling, the drug trade and 

poaching. 


Aggretech to become 

MTU Onsite Energy Systems 

Tognum has taken over 75.1 percent of the Bavarian manufacturer of 

power generator sets Aggretech. The company, which produces diesel and 

gas-engine based generators for the standard systems market, but also 

supplies customized solutions, will operate as MTU Onsite Energy Systems 

GmbH. The engine, generator and control system are mounted on specially 

constructed frames in individually designed energy centers. Aggretech sells 

its products worldwide. 

“The investment in Aggretech is consistent with our policy of expanding 

our decentralized energy plant business,” explains Tognum Chairman and 

CEO, Joachim Coers. To date, Tognum’s onsite energy strategy has been 

centered around engine production at the sites in Friedrichshafen, Aiken 

(USA) and Suzhou (China), diesel-based standard systems and 

customized power generation solutions made in Mankato (USA) and gasbased 

generator sets from Augsburg. “Aggretech will now form the fourth 

pillar of our onsite energy strategy,” expands Coers. “Beyond that, Tognum 

will also benefit from Aggretech’s system engineering skills and technical 

expertise.” 

In brief: 

Tognum growth in double figures 

Tognum continues to grow and expand its market position. "2011 was 

another successful year for Tognum," relates Tognum Chairman and CEO, 

Joachim Coers. As a result of the upturn in the economy, orders received 

rose 13 percent last year to 199.7m euro. At the same time, turnover increased 

to 2,972.1m euro and thus significantly exceeded the previous 

year's figure (2010: 2,563.6m euro). And despite the economic uncertainty, 

the group expects profitable growth to continue in 2012. 

Tognum, the parent company of MTU, increased its total sales to 

2,972.1 million euros in 2011. 

Aiken plant expands 

The MTU engine plant in Aiken, USA, is undergoing a 40m euro expansion 

program. As well as two new research and development buildings, 

new engine test benches are also being added. To date, Aiken has produced 

components for the MTU Series 2000 and Series 4000 and 

assembled Series 4000 engines. Only one year after starting production, 

the facility obtained ISO 14001 accreditation on the basis of its 

environmentally safe diesel engine production processes. 

Five diesel gensets and a natural-gas CHP plant will start service at the Queen 

Elizabeth Hospital in Perth, Australia, in July 2012. 

Medical suppliers 

MTU takes off with apps 

The first MTU apps are now available online. There is an MTU iPad 

app offering technical data and background information such as performance 

data for the Series 1600 engines. A smartphone app is also 

available which shows the nearest MTU and MTU Onsite Energy Sales 

& Service agents based on the phone's location. The MTU apps are 

available free of charge from the Apple App Store. 

An app for Series 1600 engines is available in the Apple App Store. 

The Australian Health Ministry has ordered five diesel gensets and a 

natural-gas CHP plant for the Queen Elizabeth II Hospital in Perth. The 

units will be supplied by MTU Detroit Diesel Australia Pty Ltd. The 

emergency backup generator modules are based on MTU Type 20V 

4000 G23 engines and each produce an electrical output of 2.5 megawatts. 

The CHP plant driven by an MTU Type 20V 4000 L63 gas engine 

will run continuously for around 7,000 hours a year. 


News 

Award winner 

Four MTU Powerpacks each producing 390 kW will 

power Alstom’s Coradia Lint 81 diesel railcars. 

First Powerpacks 

with SCR 

MTU is to supply 206 Powerpacks to railcar manufacturer 

Alstom. Alstom will install the underfloor diesel units in 

56 regional trains which will go into service with Deutsche 

Bahn in the Greater Cologne and Eifel region, known 

as the Cologne Diesel Network, from December 2013. 

The drive units meet EU Stage IIIB emissions regulations 

which come into force in 2012. The new Coradia Lint 54 

and 81-type trains are Deutsche Bahn’s first diesel multiple 

units to be fitted with SCR catalyzers for exhaust 

gas cleaning and nitrogen oxide emissions reduction. In 

addition, in-engine technology will reduce particulate 

emissions by around 90 percent. In conjunction with an 

innovative engine management system, the new technology 

reduces diesel fuel consumption and therefore CO 2 

emissions by up to five percent. 

The Powerpacks with 390 kW diesel engines of the 

type 6H 1800 R85L are scheduled for delivery between 

March 2012 and September 2013. The two-car Coradia 

Lint 54 vehicles will each be fitted with three Powerpacks 

whilst the three-car Coradia Lint 81 versions will get four 

Powerpacks each. On each vehicle, one of the three (or 

four) Powerpacks can be shut down to achieve significant 

savings on fuel and operating costs depending on the 

route involved. The units, also known as “Traction Powerpacks”, 

will be supplied in a cost-efficient configuration 

without assemblies such as on-board power gensets or 

aircon compressors. As an operator, Deutsche Bahn also 

benefits from the opportunity to precisely tailor the 

package supplied to the service operated. Consistent 

savings on diesel fuel mean increased cost-efficiency over 

the entire life of the vehicles. 

Readers of the trade publication Mining Magazine have cast 

their votes and the result is that the MTU Series 4000 engines 

for mining vehicles have won the Mining Magazine Award in 

the “Environmental Excellence” category. The engines meet 

the Tier 4 final emissions standard without the use of exhaust 

treatment systems. The award recognizes outstanding new 

technologies, machinery and plant in the mining industry. 

Readers of the trade magazine could choose between three 

finalists in each of eleven categories. For the first time, nominees 

for this year’s awards included projects in the new 

category of “Environmental Excellence”. One of MTU’s conominees 

was an Australian mine which has implemented a 

scheme for recycling its rubble heaps. The other member of 

the top 3 was the 59-meter dome in a Bolivian mine that is 

designed to reduce the effect of airborne dust on the environment. 

“When developing the Series 4000 we took account of 

machine manufacturers’ product specifications as well as 

feedback from end users,” illuminates Tognum Technical 

Director, Dr. Ulrich Dohle. “The result is an engine that is 

adapted perfectly to the needs of the mining industry.” So 

despite the tighter restrictions, the Series 4000 satisfies the 

applicable emission limits by internal design features alone 

and, into the bargain, uses as much as five percent less fuel 

than the Tier 2 engines. 

The Series 4000 engines for mining vehicles meet the US Tier 4 final 

emission standards without the need for exhaust treatment technologies. 

Readers of Mining Magazine considered them deserving of 

the Mining Magazine Award in recognition. 


1 2 

3 

4 

1 The freight locomotives had to prove themselves in trials on the 3,400-kilometer route from Melbourne to 

Perth. 2 The locomotives were built by the Chinese manufacturer CSR Ziyang. 3 The diesel-electric traction 

systems with MTU Series 4000 engines have to withstand the extreme climatic conditions in the Australian outback. 

4 The locomotive bodies are married up to the bogies. 5 The first fully assembled SDA1 class locomotives 

set off from China to Australia. 6 The main part of the journey from China to Australia was made by ship. 

5 

Australian rules 

The Chinese train maker CSR Ziyang is currently building a fleet of powerful SDA1-class goods 

locomotives for the Australian freight company SCT Logistics (SCT = Special Containerized Transport). 

Ten of them are to haul heavy freight and iron ore trains across Australia. They are driven by 

MTU Type 20V 4000 rail engines delivering 3,000 kilowatts at 1,800 rpm. The first six of the batch 

have already been handed over to SCT and started service in Adelaide, South Australia. Beforehand, 

they had to complete extensive trials on their future service routes. They operated almost nonstop 

for 16 hours on the roughly 840-kilometer (522 miles) line from Adelaide to Coober Pedy. The highlight 

of the trials was a 3,400-kilometer (2,112 miles) trip from Melbourne to Perth via Adelaide. The 

section between Adelaide and Perth required a journey of 40 hours without a break. In the special 

climatic conditions of the Australian summer, that was a big challenge for the locomotives and their 

engines. Average temperatures in the region between Adelaide and Perth are around 40 degrees 

(108° F) and peaks just below the 50-degree (122°F) mark are not unusual. 

6 


As energy demand grows, offshore drilling for oil and natural gas increases 

Submerged 

treasure 


Oil&Gas 

As drilling for new reserves of oil 

and natural gas on land becomes more 

challenging, the search for large reserves 

is moving offshore. The majority 

of those reserves are in the deepest 

waters of the Earth’s oceans. Freeing 

and processing the fossil fuels requires 

equipment engineered to meet 

the unique demands of a harsh and 

remote environment. 


Leading international energy companies are spending 

heavily on offshore platforms, pipelines and floating 

storage vessels. 

Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) 

vessels like this store and process oil until tankers 

arrive to receive it and transport it to land. 

The otherwise tranquil coastal waters off 

Brazil bustle with all of the drilling, processing 

and transportation activity you would expect in 

a country that sits on roughly 11.7 billion barrels 

of oil and has taken its place among the world’s 

thriving economies. 

Six thousand miles to the northeast in the North 

Sea, a mammoth drilling platform hovers over 

Norway’s Gjoa oil and gas field. Underneath it is 

a proven reserve of 1.3 trillion cubic feet of natural 

gas and 82 million barrels of oil. Two hundred 

miles to the south— just a stone’s throw, really, 

in the context of a planet’s surface that’s 70 percent 

water— the United Kingdom awaits the 

arrival of two new drilling rigs that will produce 

three billion barrels off the coast of the Shetland 

Islands. And half a world away, preparations are 

being made eighty miles off the northwest coast 

of Australia to host the largest ultra-deepwater 

drilling platforms ever built. Eventually the semisubmersible 

rigs will preside over the new 

Gorgon Development in the Indian Ocean — and 

9.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, the energy 

equivalent of 2.25 billion barrels of oil. 

The world has never needed more oil and gas 

than right now, and the technology and equipment 

required to locate, extract and distribute 

those fossil fuels from deep offshore fields have 

never been in greater demand. In the last 10 

years, more than half of new global oil and gas 

reserves were discovered offshore. According to 

global energy research firm HIS, “Deepwater and 

ultra deepwater discoveries are becoming the 

dominant source of new reserve additions, 

accounting for 41% of total new reserves.” Extracting 

oil and gas from the bottom of the world’s 

oceans is very different than doing so on land. 

But the two tasks do share one defining characteristic: 

Neither is getting any easier. 

Riding the wave 

Given the drilling challenges and current and 

projected global demand for fossil fuels, leading 

international energy companies like Petrobras, 

Chevron, BP, ExxonMobil and others are spending 

heavily on offshore platforms, pipelines and floating 

storage vessels. It’s a wave of investment in 

specialized capital equipment that’s driving offshore 

oil and gas output to unprecedented levels. 

David Oliphant, MTU Global Director of Oil & Gas 

Sales and Sales Engineering, says the wave 

reflects significant changes in offshore energy 

production techniques over the last few years. 

“Traditional deepwater platforms are being joined 

offshore by new methods and equipment to drill, 

process and store oil and gas, such as semi-submersible 

platforms, drill ships and FPSOs (floating, 

productions, storage and offloading units). 

Contractors are now working in deeper water 

more frequently, and we have powerful engines 

that meet their needs. It’s a whole new game,” 

he adds. 

Conventional drilling platforms are gigantic floating 

rigs that are partially constructed on land, 

towed far out to sea and eventually secured in 

place over a deepwater oil or gas field. But as demand 

for energy has grown, new offshore drilling 

and processing technologies have been developed 

to keep pace. MTU has kept stride with that 

evolution, according to Robert Wagner, Senior 

Manager Oil & Gas, MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH. 

“Customers rely on our high quality, reliable 

equipment. We work very closely with our customers 

and their contractors at the early stage of 

each project, and provide technical and commercial 

information for effective project planning,” 

Wagner explains. The benefits of this approach 

are clear. The earlier that MTU is involved in the 

planning process for an offshore energy project, 

the better the results will be for the contractors 

who build and operate the equipment utilized, 

and for the energy company funding the projects. 

Breakthrough in Brazil 

Engevix (Florianopolis, Brazil), a major shipyard, 

purchased sixteen generators powered by MTU 

16V 4000 P83 diesel engines last May. Two generators 

each will be installed aboard eight FPSO 

vessels operated by Petrobras, Brazil’s multinational 

energy corporation and the largest company 

in Latin America by market capitalization. 


Oil&Gas 

“Thanks to a successful collaboration among 

MTU, Engevix, and our wholly-owned subsidiary 

MTU do Brasil, we will be providing a 

complete generator set package, including the 

design, component sourcing and assembly,” 

Oliphant explains. 

“A special aspect of this project is that Petrobras 

and the Brazilian government have mandated 

that at least 60 percent of the components in the 

generator sets be manufactured in Brazil,” says 

Keith Wiedersheim, Managing Director of MTU do 

Brasil. “By partnering with local suppliers, we are 

able to utilize the highly reliable MTU 16V 4000 

P83 engines that were manufactured in Germany 

and then locally add Brazilian-made components 

to build complete generator sets that meet the 

local-content mandate.” Each generator set 

can produce 1,800 kW. The first will serve as an 

emergency standby generator set and the second 

as an auxiliary generator set, operating in parallel 

with the ship’s 100 megawatt gas-turbine generating 

system. 

Safety at sea: Powering fire extinguisher 

pumps 

The North Sea is very different in both temperament 

and climate from the Atlantic Ocean off 

Brazil’s coast, but equally famous for its huge 

reserves of deepwater oil and natural gas. It’s 

also home to the Gjoa oil and gas field and a 

semi-submersible platform of the same name. 

Connected to five well heads tapping into a 

reserve containing over a trillion cubic feet 

of natural gas, the Gjoa platform was built by 

Norway’s Statoil Hydro and installed in late 2010. 

The platform is equipped with the world’s largest 

and most powerful fire extinguisher pumps. 

Manufactured by FRAMO (Bergen, Norway) and 

powered by four MTU 20-cylinder Series 4000 

engines each delivering 2,800 kW at 1,800 rpm, 

«Extracting oil and gas from the bottom of the world’s 

oceans is very different than doing so on land. But the two 

tasks do share one defining characteristic: Neither is getting 

any easier. » 

the four-pump system can apply over 1,000 gallons 

of seawater per second to an onboard fire. 

Erik Bergesen, a buyer at FRAMO says, “MTU is 

one of the few diesel engine builders in the world 

whose products meet the criteria for our fire extinguisher 

pumps.” Bergesen adds that he values 

the way that MTU adapted to the very specific 

engineering needs of the Gjoa platform fire extinguisher 

pump project. The platform also features 

an “essential generator” driven by an MTU Series 

4000 type 20V 956 TB33 engine with an output 

Ocean- and larger lake-based offshore platforms 

and drilling rigs are some of the largest portable 

engineered structures in the world and work in 

depths up to 10,000 feet. 


In the last ten years more than half of the discoveries 

of oil and gas reserves worldwide were made in 

coastal waters. That means that new technologies 

and equipment are needed as well as more qualified 

personnel for the drilling platforms. 

rating of 6,250 kW to provide power to critical 

electrical systems if the main power supply fails. 

A second emergency backup generator uses a 

Series 4000 type 16V 4000 P61 engine capable 

of 1,760 kW. 

Just west of the Shetland Islands, another North 

Sea oil field operation will benefit from MTU 

power generation systems. The Clair Ridge project, 

a joint venture of BP, Shell, ConocoPhillips 

and Chevron, is about to enter its second phase 

of production. The project will feature two new 

«We can provide a powerful, compact, lightweight design 

ideal for offshore applications, with all the components are 

integrated, thoroughly tested and supported. » 

Robert Wagner, MTU-Senior Manager Oil & Gas 

bridge-linked drilling platforms expected to produce 

three billion barrels of oil from North Sea 

deepwater wells. MTU will provide power generation 

systems to that system, incorporating 

both 16-cylinder and 20-cylinder versions of MTU 

Series 4000 diesel engines for emergency and 

standby power. 

MTU engines will also play a role in the fire extinguishing 

systems incorporated into the Clair 

Ridge drilling process, thanks to longtime customer 

Eureka AS (Lysaker, Norway). Eureka will use 

three MTU Series 4000 12-cylinder engines to 

drive the diesel-electric fire extinguisher pumps 

at BP’s drilling platform at Clair Ridge. “We 

choose MTU because their diesel engines are 

suitable for our applications in terms of power 

range, size and weight, and because they offer 

very good support and quality,” explains Svein 

Erik Heiebråten, Eureka’s Manager of Package 

Engineering. 

Natural gas Down Under: Australia rising 

Asia’s economic fortunes continue to rise and 

with them, the demand for energy. Australia is 

able to capitalize on that demand both because 

of its proximity to the East, and because it is a 

net exporter of hydrocarbons. In fact, Australia 

was the fourth-largest exporter of liquefied natural 

gas (LNG) in the world in 2009. 

Two major energy projects under construction 

off the coast of Australia are expected to produce 

energy in about two years, and are massive 

in scope and expectations. The Gorgon area 

gas fields are located approximately 60km from 

Barrow Island and approximately 200km west of 

Dampier. Up to 13.8 trillion cubic feet of hydrocarbon 

reserves have been certified as proven 

in the Greater Gorgon area, including 9.6 trillion 


Oil&Gas 

cubic feet of proven hydrocarbon reserves in the 

Gorgon field itself. Gorgon is considered large 

enough to justify the construction of at least two 

LNG “trains” — the liquefaction and purification 

facilities in a liquefied natural gas plant. “With 

MTU Australia, we’re supplying five essential 

diesel generator sets to the Barrow Island LNG 

processing facilities. They’ll be used to provide 

emergency power to important systems if the 

main power fails,” explains Oliphant. Each generator 

will be able to produce 3,125 kVA at 1,500 

rpm and will be driven by an MTU Series 4000 

20-cylinder diesel engine. According to Chevron, 

the project has a life cycle of at least forty years 

from the time of start-up and will provide “a cleaner 

burning energy source for Australia and the 

Asia Pacific region.” 

On the other side of the continent, a joint venture 

of Origin, ConocoPhillips and Sinopec is taking 

shape. The $35 billion Australia Pacific Liquified 

Natural Gas fields (APLNG) development consists 

of three phases, including drilling in the Surat 

and Bowen Basins near Queensland, construction 

of a gas transmission pipeline from the drilling 

sites to Curtis Island, and the construction of 

up to five LNG trains on that island. MTU will supply 

two containerized generator sets for standby 

power for the trains. Each genset will produce 

2,500 kVA at 1,500 rpm, thanks to MTU Series 

4000 16-cylinder engines. 

Single source, thoroughly engineered 

These examples and others around the world 

demonstrate MTU’s growing momentum in the 

offshore energy business, particularly in highly 

efficient diesel-driven power generation systems. 

Robert Wagner says, “We can offer our offshore 

customers many significant advantages and a 

complete package solution from a single supplier. 

That means we can provide a powerful, compact, 

lightweight design ideal for offshore applications, 

with all the components are integrated, thoroughly 

tested and supported,” he explains. 

There’s nothing easy or inexpensive about offshore 

oil and gas production. But as the world 

clamors for more energy, it’s clear that there’s 

a bright future in the darkest water. 

Words: Mike Principato 

Pictures: Getty Images, Tognum Corporate 

Archive 


David Oliphant 

david.oliphant@tognum.com 

Tel. +1-248-560-8054 

MTU in the Global Offshore 

Energy Business MTU supplies diesel engines for a variety 

of oil and gas drilling, storage and processing applications 

all over the world, including these types of offshore 

facilities: 

Fixed Platforms 

Ocean- and larger lake-based offshore platforms and 

drilling rigs are some of the largest portable engineered 

structures in the world. The biggest are designed for and 

installed over the most productive fields for long term 

use. Platforms are stabilized on drilling sites using several 

methods, depending on water depth. For example, 

semisubmersible platforms, which can be relocated with 

relative ease, are deployed in depths up to 10,000 feet 

and utilize pontoons and columns for floatation. “Jack-up” 

mobile drilling rigs use legs that can be raised and 

lowered while attached to the sea floor and thus are used 

in depths of up to about 500 feet. 

Drillships 

As the name implies, drillships are vessels equipped with 

oil and gas drilling capabilities. These vessels are often 

used in the exploration of new wells in deep water up to 

12,000 feet. 

FPSOs 

A Floating Production Storage and Offloading unit is 

typically a large monohull vessel equipped with facilities 

to store and process oil extracted by a separate platform. 

FPSOs can store crude oil for extended periods until 

tankers arrive to receive it and transport it to land. 

Variations on the FPSO include floating storage and 

offloading units (FSOs) and floating storage units (FSU), 

which have more limited functionality. London energy 

industry research firm Infield projects that 62% of floating 

oil and gas production systems will be in FPSOs, far 

more than any other offshore system. The natural gas 

equivalent of an FPSO is an FLNG-Floating Liquid 

Natural Gas facility. 

MEMO 

41% of newly discovered oil and gas reserves are 

located in deep sea or ultra-deep sea areas. 

MTU engines are well-known around the offshore 

energy world, particularly in highly efficient 

diesel-driven power generation systems. 


MTU Brown MTU Brown 

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Power for Airport Rescue Fire Fighting Vehicles 

The extinguishers 

As Brazil prepares to host an estimated 600,000 football fans from foreign countries at the 

2014 FIFA World Cup, the nation’s airport authority is investing billions in upgrades to the 

country’s air transportation infrastructure. Rosenbauer America is playing a part in that 

effort by supplying eighty MTU powered airport fire trucks. 

Pacific 

Ocean 

Venezuela 

Colombia 

Ecuador 

Peru 

Bolivia 

Brazil 

The Brazilian government authority Infraero Aeroportos 

operates the country’s sixty-six airports, 

handling about 97% of all air traffic. According 

to Infraero, two million aircraft takeoffs and landings 

carrying over 155 million passengers occur 

in Brazilian airports each year. Infraero says although 

current airports infrastructure meets in- 

Paraguay 

Uruguay 

MAP 

Sao Paulo 

Atlantic 

Ocean 

It once was easy to know when a person reached 

the highest heights of truly international fame. It 

was the precise moment when he or she became 

known by a single proper noun. Pavarotti was just 

that, and Einstein didn’t need “Albert.” There’s 

no “Frank” necessary before “Sinatra” today, any 

more than “Amadeus” was for required before 

“Mozart” two centuries ago. Today, whether it’s 

Bieber, Beyonce or Bono, more often than not, 

one-word-only celebrities seem almost common. 

Brazilians do things a little differently. They prefer 

to reserve solitary noun status strictly for their 

real heroes: footballers. Specifically and most 

recently, a young player named simply Neymar. 

Many fans of the game consider Neymar to be 

one of the best strikers in the world today, a sure 

bet to earn a spot on Brazil’s National Team and 

a worthy successor to Ronaldo and Pele, the 

country’s previous one-name living football 

legends. 

All of this helps explain why Brazil is investing a 

great deal of time and resources in its infrastructure 

to prepare to host the world’s biggest sports 

event. For Brazilians, the 2014 FIFA World Cup 

isn’t just their team’s chance to win an unprecedented 

sixth international championship. It’s also 

an opportunity to showcase Brazil itself, a country 

that has transformed itself into a thriving economic 

success story. And, just as important, one 

that will be fully prepared to host Rio2016, the 

first Olympic Games ever held in South America. 


Industry 

Left: Rosenbauer America 

is supplying eighty 

Panther ARFFs (Airport 

Rescue Fire Fighting 

vehicles) to Brazil’s Infraero 

Aeroportos as the 

country prepares its 

airports to host visitors 

from around the world 

for the 2014 FIFA World 

Cup and the 2016 Olympic 

Games. 

Right: Football superstar 

Neymar is expected to 

play for the Brazilian 

national team when his 

country hosts the 2014 

FIFA World Cup. 

ternational standards, anticipated increased air 

traffic in future years requires the modernization 

project that’s underway now. That’s where 

Rosenbauer America, the world's largest fire 

apparatus manufacturer, and its longtime diesel 

engine supplier MTU, are playing a role. 

Rosenbauer recently signed a $42.9 million (US) 

contract with Infraero to supply eighty Panther 

ARFFs (Airport Rescue Fire Fighting vehicles). A 

prototype is expected to be delivered to Infraero 

before the end of this year; the Panthers will then 

be manufactured at the Rosenbauer Minnesota 

and Rosenbauer Motors divisions in Wyoming, 

Minnesota. The ARFF firefighting systems will 

be supplied from Rosenbauer International AG’s 

main plant in Leonding, Austria. The vehicles will 

be supplied and commissioned in several stages 

to Infraero by January 2014. 

ARFFs are a critical tool in the emergency 

response program at major airports. They are 

designed and built by Rosenbauer from chassis 

to turret for the unique characteristics and 

demands of airport emergencies. The six-tire, 

three-axle Panther sold to Infraero has a 

3,400-gallon payload capable of delivering long 

and massive high-pressure streams of fire extinguishant 

— crucial for fighting fires that can occur 

on or around large commercial jets. Like all 

Rosenbauer ARFFs, the truck’s sleek design 

allows unobstructed and rapid access to the 

emergency gear onboard. Inside the cockpit, an 

array of color-coded buttons and switches are 

presented to the driver in a logical format, with 

the firefighting turret and pump controlled by a 

jetfighter style joystick and pushbutton. Operator 

vision and safety is optimized with a built-in 

Forward-Looking Infrared (FLIR) thermal imaging 

camera system. 

Like any emergency vehicle — particularly one 

that has to be ready to serve on a moment’s 

notice in the 24/7 operating environment of 

airports all over the world — reliability is critical. 

“Rosenbauer chose the 665 hp MTU Series 60 

for this application because of its dependability, 

performance and value. MTU offers an excellent 

standard warranty which is a huge benefit to our 

customers. The Series 60 also offers excellent 

fuel economy, low emissions output and is ideally 

suited for Rosenbauer’s ARFF application,” explains 

Jeff O'Hearn, ARFF Mechanical Designer/ 

Engineer at Rosenbauer. 

When an airport emergency occurs, every 

second counts. Equipped with its MTU diesels, 

Infraero Aeroportos’ Panther ARFFs can hit 

75 miles per hour on the way to the incident. 

That’s fast — even faster than Neymar. Just don’t 

tell that to a Brazilian football fan. 

Text: Mike Principato 

Pictures: Rosenbauer, Getty Images 


David Combs 

david.combs@mtu-online.com 

Tel. +1 248 560-8182 


Mining 

MTU engines in action in South African platinum mine 

Platinic affair 

Pompie Makgoba is a mechanic at the Modikwa platinum mine. Like thousands of other 

South Africans, his family has worked in mining for generations. 




0-17-28-62 80% der Farbe 60% 



60% 

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CMYK 

40% 

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20% 

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Mining 

For thousands of years man has looked to 

extract the planet’s minerals in one form or 

another. South Africa has always been at the 

forefront of this endeavour, starting with 

ancient civilisations looking to access the 

mystical powers of gold, to the famed gold 

rush in the 1880s. In fact, it would be safe 

to say that South Africa has led the world in 

the last 150 years with the city of Johannesburg 

or Egoli (Xhosa for City of Gold) – 

Africa’s economic powerhouse – having risen 

out of the original gold mines. All across the 

northern reaches of the country there are 

areas where mining is not only a way of life, 

but a life line. 

In one of the poorest provinces of South Africa, 

with 22% unemployment and other major socioeconomic 

issues, a job is what holds the key for 

most. With mining being the dominant industry 

and provider of jobs in the officially liquidated 

Limpopo Province, it is no wonder that families 

like Pompie Makgoba’s have been in the mining 

business for generations. It also makes it easier 

to understand why he and thousands of others 

wake up at 3:30 am every day to start work on 

the mines at 6 am. Pompie drives two hours just 

to get to work each day and roughly the same to 

get home to his wife and three children. 

Modikwa Platinum Mine 

Modikwa Platinum Mine has been in operation 

since 2003 and lies in a lush, subtropical igneous 

complex that spans hundreds of kilometres. 

Deceptive appearance: 

a green and sparsely 

populated landscape on 

the surface. But underground 

there are loud 

rumblings. The Modikwa 

platinum mine is located 

in an area in which 

extensive natural resources 

are hidden. Valuable 

metals are extracted 

from a total of 21 mines 

in the region. 

Entering the area of the mine, where a sprawl of 

villages and a snaking commercial zone hugs the 

main road from Burgersfort to Polokwane, is an 

array of mid-sized hilltops and rocky outcrops. 

Scores of car washes, fruit sellers, taverns and 

makeshift auto mechanics line up to ply their 

trade. There are 21 mines operating in the area, 

and a further 16 being developed. It is no surprise 

then that with this rich depository encased 

below the surface, the area experiences the highest 

density of lightning strikes in South Africa. 

Going underground – Safety a priority 

Pompie has worked at Modikwa Platinum Mine 

since 2006 and has worked on mines for 32 

years. He now finds himself in a good place and 

is happy to spend his days servicing the vehicles 

that do the hard work underground and on the 

surface. When asked about the ups and downs of 

the job, he quickly responds, “There is not much 

stress, because the engines are easy to service, 

but I don’t like going underground. It is too dangerous.” 

Modikwa boasts proud testimony to its 

emphasis on safety, with eight million fatality free 

shifts. This is a record in the South African 

Mining industry. 

On average, Pompie and his team of boiler 

mechanics will spend 20% of their time underground, 

servicing machines that are unable to 

come to the surface to be repaired at the workshop. 

For the other employees who are not so 

lucky, they will spend all of their time underground 

in shifts of up to 12 hours at a time. 

Modikwa is a decline mine, so there is no drop 

shaft and miners enter either by catching a lift in 

one of the vehicles descending the nine degree 

slope, or they take a chair lift reminiscent of those 

found in ski resorts, which comprises stool-like 

devices placed ten metres apart on a cable that 

loops to and from a central area below the surface. 

“Make big rocks into little rocks” 

There is a great deal happening at any one time 

on the mine. Five thousand employees in total 

and an arsenal of over 35 vehicles, performing a 

range of extremely attritional tasks, make it a very 

busy place. In a highly sophisticated engineering 

environment, with some of the most impressive 

power machinery available anywhere, the essence 

of the game remains simple – “make big rocks 

into little rocks”. Driving this overly simplistic 

description of the process on both North and 

South shafts at Modikwa is the MTU Series 904 

and MTU Series 926. Both vehicles are key to the 

reduction of bedrock to access the ore and eventually 

the refined precious platinum. 

Working at the face – well drilled 

Powering the drill rig, a vehicle used in the development 

of the stopes and tunnels underground, 

is the MTU Series 904. The drill rig is a futuristic 

construct which would look quite at home in the 

movie Transformers. With its six metre long boom 

reaching to the face, it pierces the solid earth, 

punching holes approximately 5cm wide; just 

enough to house and make way for the explosives. 

If the drill rig goes down, production slows. 

And in an operation that produces 240,000 tons 

of platinum per year and loses on average ten 

million rand for each day that production stops, 

reliability and peak performance are non-negotiables. 

It is one of the only machines on Modikwa 

that stays underground, even as blasting takes 

place. The three drill rigs on North and South 

shaft stay underground for a full week, being 

re-fuelled underground from containers delivered 

to it, when required. 

Botswana 

South Africa 

Zimbabwe 

MAP 

Mozambique 

Burgersfort 

Swaziland 

Indian 

Ocean 


When the vehicles return to the surface every day, mine workers wash the dust off them from blasting and transporting 

the rocks. By doing so, they minimize the exposure of the engines and other sensitive components. Because when plant is 

used 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, downtimes have to be kept to the absolute minimum. 


With their long arms, the rigs for drilling the blasting holes are among the more exotic vehicles in the mine. They drill 

holes roughly five centimeters across into the rock face, which are then filled with explosive. The drill rigs are brought 

to the surface for cleaning and servicing once a week. They are even refueled underground when required. 


Mining 

Pompie services and maintains the MTU Series 

904 engine when it comes to the surface and is 

impressed by its power. “The MTU engine 

in the drill rig is something I would like to put 

in my car,” he jokes, “it would make my ride to 

the mine each day far more enjoyable”. It may 

help to get him through the mountain passes but 

the open road might prove a little frustrating. 

Whether Pompie’s wife will be happy with the 

roaring produced by the impressive torque at 

low revolutions, is another question. 

Carrying the load 

Each vehicle plays a specific role in the operation. 

Moving from the more exotic drill rigs and 

roof bolters, there is the less sci-fi inspired load 

haul dumper (LHD), which would be no stranger 

to anyone who has played in the sand pit or the 

beach as a child. The 20-ton LHD on Modikwa 

is powered by the MTU Series 926. Being one of 

the smaller LHD’s on the mine, it more than 

makes up for its size in workload. For this reason 

it is crucial that it remains working; for maximum 

periods, at maximum output. LHD’s load and 

carry the blasted raw ore from underground to 

the surface, where it is tipped and sorted and 

makes its way on the impressive system of conveyer 

belts on both North and South shafts to 

the smelter. The size of this particular vehicle 

makes it more mobile and manageable for 

increased productivity. 

MTU gets the nod 

In a trackless underground mining operation, 

with heavy machinery manoeuvring in tight 

spaces to get to its destination and perform its 

task on a 24 hour basis, size and performance 

is a key combination. Smaller vehicles doing the 

work of bigger machines, thereby increasing efficiency 

and productivity would put a smile on any 

Engineering Foreman or Contracts Manager’s 

face. Rudi Coetzee, Engineering Foreman at Modikwa, 

confirms this, concluding, “That was critical 

when we elected MTU to supply our engines. 

We made it perfectly clear to them that we are 

a mine running 24 hours a day. MTU was one of 

the few companies that could stand behind us 

and provide a service on that basis. These engines 

have to perform in some of the harshest 

conditions, for long periods.” 

Automation in extreme conditions 

Modikwa is known for its high water table and it is 

common for Pompie to get called to service a 

vehicle that is knee-deep in water, especially in 

newly developed areas where the water still needs 

to be pumped out. To illustrate this, in 2011, 

240 ml of rain fell in a 24 hour period, adding to 

the challenge that these machines endure from 

the elements. Further from the development 

ends, where the older areas are, he may experience 

extreme heat and dust with temperatures 

consistently reaching the mid 40˚s Celsius (100° 

F). The engines add significantly to the heat, too. 

If it were not for the Engine Control Module (ECM) 

there may be more cause for concern. The ECM is 

the automatic protection system on the MTU engines, 

where engines are programmed to cut out 

after excessive idling time. Although there is an 

extensive ventilation system at work, and efforts 

are maximised to pump clean air underground, as 

well as to reduce emissions, there are hard facts 

that human beings are faced with in an environment 

that was not meant for us to be in. 

The real dangers of mining in South Africa 

– Snakes on a mine 

Besides the risks already highlighted, there is 

the ever present danger of ‘fall of ground’ where 

miners can be trapped or worse. Each miner is 

supplied with a survival pack which will give an 

additional 45 minutes of oxygen in a crisis situation 

and there are communication devices stationed 

throughout the mine which do a good job 

in lessening the risks slightly. As if the threat of 

this is not enough, Modikwa employs a permanent 

snake catcher! He is known to catch up to 

four snakes a day in the summer, being that the 

area is a hotbed for some of the most deadly 

The value of the ore is 

not yet apparent from 

the freshly mined grey 

rocks. Only after smelting 

is it turned into 

highly prized platinum. 

snakes in the world, including the Black Mamba, 

Spitting Cobra and the lethal Rinkals. Underground 

mining is not for the faint hearted nor 

faint engines! 

The future looks bright 

Pompie takes great pride in the role that he plays 

in the greater good of the mine. Understanding 

the vast workload that the machines get through 

daily, in extreme conditions, means that the work 

he and his fellow boiler mechanics perform is just 

as important as the most senior executives. It is 

a high risk environment and every service that 

Pompie undertakes means that his fellow workers 

underground are safer and the profitability of the 

mine is not jeopardised. 

Pompie’s positive approach to his work is a 

shining example for those around him. “In five 

years time, my goal is to be a manager”, comments 

Pompie when asked what the future holds 

for him at Modikwa. With mining in his veins and 

the good performance of the mine thus far, one 

would not wager against this. 

Words: Chad Fichardt 

Pictures: Francesca van Rooyen 


Dave Nicol 

dave.nicol@mtu-online.com 

Tel. +27 11 570-4901


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Research vessels guard the U.S. Great Lakes 

Invades from 

the deepth 

Canada 

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Great Lakes 

USA 

Ann Arbor 

Cuba 

Atlantic 

Ocean 

The R/V Kaho is one of two new MTU powered high-speed research vessels purchased by the USGS. 

The Great Lakes that border the United 

States’ northeast corner and Canada are the 

largest collection of freshwater lakes on 

Earth and hold 21% of the world’s surface 

fresh water. Protecting the delicate ecological 

balance in Lakes Superior, Ontario, Michigan, 

Huron and Erie is the job of the United States 

Department of the Interior’s US Geological 

Survey Center (USGS) and its Great Lakes Science 

Center. The USGS chose MTU diesel engines 

to power its two newest scientific 

research vessels, the Kaho and the Muskie. 

They are fifty-pound aquatic aliens, labeled 

the “locusts of the river,” and can terrorize any 

ecosystem they invade. They have been called 

“living missiles” because of their habit of launching 

themselves out of the water when startled, 

often right into the path of unwary boaters, 


Marine 

The United States Department of the Interior’s US Geological Survey Center (USGS) and its Great Lakes 

Science Center help protect the US Great Lakes from invasive species like these Asian Carp. 

water skiers and fisherman. They can severely 

deplete the food supply of any freshwater waterway 

they inhabit by feeding on the plankton essential 

to sustaining native fish populations. They 

are the infamous Asian carp. The species was originally 

imported from China and Southeast Asia 

to consume algae in US catfish ponds. In the 

decades since their arrival, however, they have 

been voraciously eating and reproducing their 

way up the Mississippi River on their way to the 

Great Lakes. If the carp reach the Lakes, the invasive 

species might threaten a $7 billion fishing 

industry and substantial tourist revenue. 

If the unwelcome fish do arrive, the researchers 

at the Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC, Ann 

Arbor, Michigan) will be among the first to detect 

their presence. In fact, although photos of 

schools of leaping carp have attracted a lot of 

media attention lately, GLSC has quietly played 

a vital role in protecting and preserving the 

Great Lakes’ ecosystem and biodiversity for almost 

a century. It’s a mission as broad and deep 

as the Lakes themselves; accomplishing it is 

expected to get a bit easier soon, thanks to two 

new MTU powered high-speed research vessels. 

Bigger, faster and smarter 

Christened last August, R/V Kaho and R/V Muskie 

were purchased by the USGS for the GLSC at 

a combined cost of $8.2 million, replacing two 

smaller, older vessels of the same names that 

were operating in Lake Ontario and Lake Erie, 

respectively. According to GLSC Director Russell 

Strach, “The R/V Muskie and R/V Kaho will 

provide safe and reliable platforms for scientists, 

and are equipped with state-of-the-art scientific 

instrumentation to improve our understanding of 

deep-water ecosystems and fishes in lakes Erie 

and Ontario.” 

Kaho and Muskie are multi-purpose vessels 

equipped with wet laboratories and sophisticated 

sampling, fish detection and analysis gear. This 

onboard equipment can collect, analyze, monitor 

and communicate critical information about 

fishery, aquatic and coastal resources. Designed 

by Murray & Associates (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) 

and built in Cleveland, Ohio by Great Lakes 

Shipyard under construction supervision by Alion 

Science and Technology (McLean, Virginia), 

the new boats are powered by twin MTU Series 

2000 M72 8V Tier 2 engines rated at 965 bhp 

at 2,250 rpm. According to Don Barnhart, OEM 

Application Support at MTU distributor W.W. Williams 

(Cleveland, Ohio), Kaho and Muskie feature 

several unique characteristics for USGS vessels. 


Marine 

“USGS already uses MTU engines to power 

other research vessels, but these are the first 

MTU Series 2000s in their fleet and the first to be 

installed by Great Lakes Shipyard. Kaho and 

Muskie are also the first aluminum boats to be 

built by Great Lakes,” he says. 

Floating laboratories 

R/Vs Kaho and Muskie will continue to perform 

the important scientific research work of its predecessor 

on Lake Ontario. Studies conducted 

aboard the old Kaho documented the spread of 

invasive zebra and quagga mussels, and was also 

used to collect fish and environmental samples 

for a wide spectrum of studies, including the 

Great Lakes Fish Contaminants Monitoring Program 

in cooperation with U.S Environmental Protection 

Agency. R/V Muskie’s predecessor was 

the primary USGS research platform on Lake Erie, 

providing scientific information relevant to the 

restoration, enhancement, management and 

protection of fishery resources in Lake Erie 

since 1960. 

lic gillnet lifters. An A-frame provides options for 

stern gear deployment and lifting, and a knuckle 

crane facilitates the transfer of large loads and 

specialized sampling needs. Each ship’s propulsion 

and power plant systems are designed for 

quiet operation. Twin propellers, a bow thruster, 

and hydraulic anchor winch provide a variety of 

options for stationary sampling. Onboard sample 

processing and storage is supported with a 

stainless steelwork bench in the wet laboratory, 

motion compensating balance, chemical storage 

locker, cold and hot water supply, clean AC 

power supply, and large freezer capacity. Navigation, 

weather, and winch operation data are 

supplied to the dry lab area and can be integrated 

electronically with data from scientific 

sensors to support a wide range of project 

needs. To ensure business communications 

while underway, the ship is also equipped with 

a 3G/4G cellular modem and WiFi network. 

MTU the engine of choice 

Series 2000 engines were ideal for the 70-ft 

long, 18-ft beam aluminum hulls, which can hit 

17 knots — fast for vessels in this class. Although 

they comfortably carry six crewmembers for up 

to five days at sea, space aboard the vessels is 

limited — another reason MTU was the engine 

supplier of choice. “The MTU engines were selected 

for their size relative to horsepower, fuel 

economy and low engine noise level. The com- 

GLSC crews have quietly played a vital role in protecting and preserving the Great Lakes’ ecosystem 

for almost a century. 

The new research vessels are similarly equipped 

and support the widest possible range of scientific 

sampling activities. The main winch system 

allows deployment of multiple towed trawls, 

sonar devices, gliders, plankton nets and more. 

Precision fishing can be done at specified depths 

with an integrated net control system and hydraupact 

8V configuration was perfect for the vessels’ 

engine rooms, which were designed to be as 

small as possible to maximize room for the crew 

and equipment,” Barnhart explains, who says he 

looks forward to more opportunities to supply 

MTU engines to Great Lakes Shipyard 

and the USGS. 

R/V Muskie Captain Tim Cherry, P.E., says, “The 

MTU 8V-2000 M72 main diesel engines demonstrated 

excellent performance during the sea trials 

for the R/V Muskie and R/V Kaho. These smaller 

and lighter engines for the delivered horsepower 

were a nice fit for our shallow draft, fast research 

vessel design. Observed exhaust emissions and 

engine vibrations were a lot lower than what we 

anticipated during sea trials. The full speed ahead, 

astern, and crash stop sea trial tests went extremely 

smooth and exceeded all our expectations.” 


R/V Kaho and its sister vessel R/V Muskie are equipped 

with wet laboratories and sophisticated gear to collect, 

analyze, monitor and communicate critical information 

about fishery, aquatic and coastal resources. 

MEMO 

The new Kaho and Muskie ensure that GLSC 

maintains its status as the only organization in the 

US and Canada with a research vessel possessing 

deepwater capability on each of the Great Lakes. 

That makes the Center unique in its ability to conduct 

comparative offshore field studies on fish 

population dynamics and related topics. “We’ve 

been out there for almost a century and are often 

first to detect an invasive species,” says Strach. 

Reliable, light and dynamic 

MTU series 2000 engines are available in 8, 10, 12 and 16-cylinder configurations. Depending on 

the cylinder configuration, in commercial applications they produce 400kW to 1,440kW at a top 

speed of 2,000rpm. These engines are ahead of the field with features such as 2.8kg/kW power-toweight 

ratio (MTU Type 8V2000M72) and advanced dynamic characteristics which deliver excellent 

acceleration and maneuverability. In addition, an extremely well developed global service 

network ensures reliable maintenance 

and high-level engine availability. 

That’s good news for the Great Lakes. Bad news 

for Asian Carp. 

Words: Mike Principato 

Pictures: Getty Images, Rita Lewchanin 

MTU 8V Series 2000 M72 

engines are used to propel 

the vessel. 


Jeff Sherman, jeff.sherman@mtu-online.com 

Tel. +1 504 467-3811 



Compact cogeneration modules dry malt for beer brewing 


Cheers! 

Undoubtedly, if the Oktoberfest were 

held 70 times a year it would keep a 

lot of people happy. As well as bumping 

up beer sales to about 538 million 

liters. To produce that amount 

you would need not just hops, water 

and yeast but around 86,000 tonnes 

of malt. That is precisely how much 

the malt producer Durst Malz makes 

at its malting works in Gernsheim 

every year. The malt is dried with 

the aid energy produced by two modular 

CHP plants supplied by MTU 

Onsite Energy. 


1 

1 Every year Durst Malz produces roughly 

200,000 tonnes of malt, of which 86,000 tonnes 

are made at its facility in Gernsheim. 

2 Peter Grüner, Sales Manager, Germany, for Gas 

Power Systems at MTU Onsite Energy in conversation 

with plant manager, Berthold Klee. 

3 A sort of gigantic vacuum cleaner sucks the grain 

out of the ship’s hold at a rate of 60 to 80 tonnes per 

hour. 

4 Before the barley goes into the storage silo, laboratory 

technician Barbara Secker checks its quality. 

2 

3 

4 

Have you ever heard of an employer that offers its 

staff an in-house aromatic sauna? Temperatures 

up to 85 degrees Celsius, an atmosphere infused 

with fragrances redolent of roasted malt and 

magnificent views of the Odenwald forest from 

the top of the tower. Sounds like a glorious healthspa 

experience. But actually we are in the core 

facility of the Durst Malz malting works in Gernsheim 

am Rhein in the German state of Hessen. 

This is where the third of the ingredients allowed 

in the making of beer according to the German 

Reinheitsgebot (“Purity Law”) of 1516 in addition 

to hops and water is made, i.e. malt. Malt is made 

from grain, primarily barley, and is the ingredient 

mostly responsible for the flavor of beer. This 

“aromatic sauna” is where the malt is dried before 

being stored in silos up to 50 meters high or 

sent out to breweries. 

Founded in 1824, Durst Malz has developed 

over nearly two hundred years from a family business 

to a leading malt producer. Since October 

2011 it has been part of the French malt-making 

group Soufflet, the second largest malt manufacturer 

in the world. The head offices of Durst 

Malz are in Bruchsal-Heidelsheim and there are 

additional sites in Castrop-Rauxel and Gernsheim. 

Every year Durst Malz produces roughly 

200,000 tonnes of malt, of which 86,000 tonnes 

are made in Gernsheim. “Here in Gernsheim we 

only process barley,” reveals plant manager and 

master brewer Berthold Klee. In a display cabinet 

in his office there are several bottles and cans of 

the Japanese beers “Sapporo” and “Kirin”. Major 

German brewers also buy the malt for their beers 

from Durst Malz. And the company exports to 

countries including Namibia, South Africa, Guatemala 

and the USA. 

Barley germination the decisive stage 

Klee has no time for any more explanations just 

now. There is a cargo ship carrying 1,000 tons 

of barley in its hold waiting to be unloaded at the 

company’s own wharf. The in-house laboratory 

has already given the go-ahead. “They check the 

barley for grain size and test its moisture and protein 

content. However, the decisive factor is the 

capacity of the grain to germinate,” explains the 

six-footer. Germination is the decisive stage in 

making the barley suitable for use in brewing. 

During germination, enzymes are formed which 

help to convert the starch contained in the barley 

into malt sugar in the brewing process. In the 

subsequent fermentation process, the malt sugar 

is turned into alcohol with the aid of yeast. “Although 

the original grain contains enzymes, they 

are nowhere near enough to convert the starch 

into malt sugar,” Klee explains. The rest of what 

he says is suddenly drowned out by a deafening 

noise. There is a droning and rumbling coming 

from the ship’s hold. Incalculable quantities of 

the ochre-colored grains disappear at lightning 

speed up a gigantic vacuum pipe swinging vertically 

above the cargo. The vacuum delivers 60 to 

80 tonnes of barley an hour to one of the round 

storage silos via a conveyor belt. “The ship will be 

empty in one and a half days,” shouts Klee in an 

attempt to make himself heard over the din. 

Steam bath and aromatic sauna 

If you want to find your way to Durst Malz, there’s 

no need for sat nav – just scan the horizon. The 

slim silos that store the barley and the finished 

malt reach as high as 50 meters skywards and 

can be seen from a long way off. From the silos, 

the barley is conveyed to one of the three germination 

towers, which are about three times the 

diameter of the silos. The germination tower is 

the core facility of the malting works because it 

is here that the barley is made into malt. The process 

starts at the top and ends at the ground floor 

of the tower. We take the lift to the ninth floor 

where Klee wants to check on production with 

production manager Konrad Lord. “Be careful, it’s 

wet in here,” he warns when we are on the top 

floor, before opening the heavy door giving 

access to the inside. The most obvious sight is a 

large circular area containing 250 tonnes of barley. 

The ceiling is covered with droplets of water 

and air humidity is high. It is like in a steam bath. 

“This is what we call a germination box,” explains 

Klee, his eyes concealed by steam-covered 

glasses. “There are two more of them on the 

seventh and fifth floors.” By this time the sheets 

in his pad are starting to curl up from the damp. 

Before the barley starts germinating here, it is 

soaked in water in large steeping tubs. It has a 

water content of 45 percent when it is moved to 

the germination box and it is left there to germinate 

for six days. To make sure it germinates as 

evenly as possible, it is kept constantly moist and 

aerated and regularly turned. “Basically, what we 

are doing, is no different from when someone 

waters seeds in a tray on the window-sill at home, 

allows them to germinate and then uses them to 

add flavor to the salad,” Klee reveals. “Except that 

we stop the germination process after six days 

and then dry the grain out. And, of course, we are 

talking about entirely different scales,” Lord adds. 

He takes a sample with a long scoop. Out of 

every grain a new, whitish shoot is emerging. 

“Tomorrow, this barley will be ready, so we will 

stop the germination process and move it one 

floor down for drying,” the production manager 

continues. 

Third floor of the germination tower. “Nice and 

warm in here,” observes Klee. Another heavy door 

leads into the aromatic sauna. We are met by the 

sweet smell of malt and the welcoming warmth 



«When the barley is moved from the steeping 

tub to the germination tower it has a water 

content of 45 percent. » 

Konrad Lord, production manager 

Before the barley starts germinating in 

one of the three germination towers, it is 

soaked in water in large steeping tubs. 



«We need the thermal energy from the CHP 

modules for the drying process. » 

Plant manager, Berthold Klee 

The CHP modules from MTU Onsite 

Energy come into their own in the 

drying kiln. 

40 I MTU Report 01/12 

Production manager, Konrad Lord, on 

one of his inspection tours of the CHP 

plants.


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of 65 degrees Celsius. Though for a relaxing spa 

experience it is rather too noisy. Two fans loudly 

blast 152,000 cubic meters of air an hour through 

the kiln, as it is known, to dry the malt. There is 

another kiln on the ground floor of the tower. 

The temperature gets as high as 85 degrees Celsius 

there. The moisture content, meantime, 

drops from 45 to just four percent. Drying malt 

gives the room a caramel-colored coating. This is 

precisely where the two natural-gas fueled combined 

heat and power (CHP) modules supplied 

by MTU Onsite Energy come into their own. “We 

need an enormous amount of heat for the drying 

process,” explains Klee. A water boiler supplies 

up to six megawatts. It is helped out by the two 

Type GC 357 N5 CHP modules, which produce 

around one megawatt of thermal energy. To operate 

as energy-efficiently as possible, the malting 

works also uses “waste products” to heat the 

air, for example by recovering heat from the CHP 

plants and recycling the exhaust air from the 

drying process. The latter is used to preheat the 

fresh air for the kilns in a heat exchanger before 

the CHP modules are brought in to raise the temperature 

above 60 degrees Celsius. Only at 85 degrees, 

the maximum temperature in the drying 

process, is energy required from the heating boiler. 

The roughly 700 kilowatts of electricity that 

the energy modules generate in addition to the 

heat is fed into the plant’s internal power grid. 

“A malting works requires a very large amount of 

energy, so it is the ideal place to use CHP modules,” 

the plant manager observes. As well as 

800 cubic meters of water a day – by comparison, 

a family of four uses about 150 cubic meters a 

year – the maltings consumes four to five million 

kilowatt-hours of gas and 800,000 to 900,000 kilowatt-hours 

of electricity a month. 

CHP modules run almost nonstop 

Klee is on his way to the basement of the germination 

tower where the CHP plants are accommodated. 

“The 3,000-hour service for the two 

modules is due today. Since they were installed 

in July 2011, these plants have been running 

Britain 

France 

Belgium 

Netherlands 

Germany 

Gernsheim 

Switzerland 

Italy 

Austria 

MAP 

Czech 

Republic 

virtually nonstop for roughly 23 hours a day. They 

are only switched off when the staff change over 

the barley in the kiln. We aim to get 180,000 to 

200,000 kilowatt-hours a month out of each 

module.” Unfortunately, Klee arrives too late – 

regional service manager Andreas Häusser from 

MTU Onsite Energy Augsburg has already finished. 

“All in perfect order,” he declares with satisfaction 

while cleaning the oil from his hands. So how 

did Durst Malz come upon MTU Onsite Energy? 

“Through the building services installers Helmut 

Herbert GmbH who installed the heating boiler for 

us. Helmut Herbert have worked closely with MTU 

Onsite Energy for a number of years,” explains 

the plant manager. “We know that Herbert have 

very solid and reliable partners so we decided to 

buy CHP modules from Augsburg to replace our 

old plants from a different supplier – and we are 

absolutely satisfied with them.” MTU Onsite Energy 

supplied the central components of the installation 

– the CHP modules and the associated 

electrical switchgear. “Each module consists of 

a gas engine, a generator, an exhaust heat exchanger, 

exhaust silencer, module controller and 

power control cabinet. All of that is mounted on 

a baseframe and ready-piped and wired,” elucidates 

Peter Grüner, Sales Manager, Germany, 

for Gas Power Systems at MTU Onsite Energy. 

“As our client, Helmut Herbert then installed the 

plants at Durst Malz together with all the associated 

services on site, i.e. air supply system, exhaust 

system, lubrication oil supply, connection to 

the natural gas supply, and heating and electrical 

connections. Commissioning was then carried out 

by our specialists from Augsburg.” 

Different for every client 

A piercing squeak intrusively interrupts the conversation. 

Klee is up and off again. A goods train 

with five wagons is just arriving at the loading 

point. The tracks run right through the middle of 

the factory grounds. The consignment is destined 

for Switzerland. Five hundred tons of barley malt a 

week are shipped to the Swiss Federation alone. 

Another 500 tons a month are dispatched by rail 

to a brewery in the Sauerland. “No client is supplied 

the same malt as another. Every customer 

has their own ideas on the characteristics of the 

end product,” the plant manager reveals. As many 

as 20 different parameters have to be considered, 

including color, water content, viscosity and pH 

level. 

The malting works processes 8,000 to 

9,000 tonnes of barley a month and production 

continues 365 days a year, summer and winter. 

“Output is higher in the summer of course, because 

people simply drink more at that time of 

the year.” In Germany, the per-capita consumption 

of beer is about 107 liters. Only water and 

1 Lord takes a sample with a long scoop to check the 

barley’s germination progress. 

2 The barley is allowed to germinate for six days 

before it is dried. 

coffee outdo the brewer’s beverage in terms of 

consumption. So are the weeks leading up to the 

Oktoberfest the high season for malt production? 

“No,” smiles Klee impishly, explaining that though 

the event was certainly a gigantic beer swilling 

occasion for Munich, it was simply subsumed 

within the normal summer production. To put 

it in context, visitors to the 2011 Oktoberfest 

downed around 7.5 million liters of beer. Each 

year the Durst Malz facility in Gernsheim produces 

enough malt for roughly 538 million liters – 

that is enough for more than 70 Oktoberfests! 

Words: Katrin Hanger 

pictures: Marcel Mayer 


Peter Grüner 

peter.gruener@mtu-online.com 

Tel. +49 6134 564 860 

2 


MTU products support economic growth in Turkey 

Energy sights 



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Hagia Sophia Mosque, the bazaar and 

Topkapi Palace are places that would 

feature on a list of must-see sights for 

tourists visiting Istanbul. Turk Telekom, 

Galata Bridge, IDO Ferries, Divan 

Hotel and Emsey Hospital, on the other 

hand are places you might pick out if 

you were following a street map that 

showed the locations of all the MTU 

and MTU Onsite Energy products in 

use in this 2,500-year-old metropolis. 

Bulgaria 

Black Sea 

MAP 

Greece 

Aegean 

Sea 

Istanbul 

Ankara 

Turkey


Nurettin Kayabaşı, Marine Engineer Superintendent at IDO, and IDO Chief Engineer, Turgut Turan (right), look over an MTU Series 8000 engine in a car ferry. 

The biggest ship, the car ferry Orhan 

Gazi, has four MTU Series 8000 propulsion 

units each capable of 9,100 kilowatts 

in the engine room. 


An animated mixture 

of ancient and modern – 

that is the flavor of the 

city of Istanbul. 

The Turkish economy is growing. The country is 

already among the leaders in many industries. 

By 2023, the 100th anniversary of the founding 

of the Republic, Prime Minister Erdoğan aims to 

have established Turkey as one of the top ten 

national economies in the world. The key to that 

ambition is energy – because growth demands 

power. But due to the rapid rate at which demand 

is rising, the power grid in Turkey is not always 

stable. MTU Onsite Energy is a sought-after 

partner for gas-engine continuous-duty generators 

and diesel-driven emergency backup generators 

in the Turkish private sector. “To date we 

have installed 105 megawatts of system capacity 

supplied by MTU Onsite Energy, and we added 

55 units in the last year alone,” reports Ali 

Güzel, Director of Sales and Marketing at MTU 

Turkey. The company is valued by end clients as 

a system supplier of tailor-made emergency and 

continous power supply solutions, offered by the 

Series 2000 and 4000 gas engines. According to 

the Turkish Electricity Transmission Company, the 

electricity demand in Turkey will rise by six percent 

a year between 2009 and 2023. The aim is 

an installed capacity of 125,000 megawatts. By 

comparison, the figure was 54,423 MW in 2010. 

In Istanbul especially, the energy need is acute. 

This is where most of the foreign companies have 

established their bases. One fifth of the Turkish 

population lives here. And anyone who has experienced 

this city understands its attraction – 

lively and animated, a noisy mixture of oriental 

flair and western lifestyle, Istanbul has visitors instantly 

under its spell. No other city in the world 

spans the junction of two continents – Europe 

and Asia. Just looking down on the city from an 

airplane, the dominant role of the Marmara Sea 

is clearly evident. That maritime influence is even 

more immediately apparent to anyone arriving 

from another town across the Bosporus on one 

of the 20 ships in the fleet of ferry operator IDO. 

IDO is the only ferry company that offers a highspeed 

ferry service from Istanbul over the straits 

between Europe and Asia Minor. In 2011, IDO 

carried roughly 52 million passengers and 

7.5 million vehicles across the Bosporus on five 

different routes with crossing times of between 

one and two hours. The company does exactly 

what it says on the name plate – IDO stands for 

Istanbul Deniz Otobüsleri, which means “Istanbul 

Sea Ferries”. Its ships are named after important 

personalities from the turkish history. 

Biggest engines for largest ferry 

The largest of them, the ferryboat Orhan Gazi 

built in 2007, sails twice a day in winter and up 

to four times daily in summer across to the town 

of Bursa. Built by Austal, its capacity is enormous. 

Within its overall length of 88 meters, it 

can accommodate up to 1,500 passengers and 

300 cars. So it is no surprise that below decks 

in the engine room there are four of the biggest 

engines made by MTU – 20-cylinder Series 8000 

units that deliver as much as 9,100 kilowatts of 

power each and propel the craft at speeds up to 

35 knots. “The engines run very economically at 

that speed. That is especially important to us,” 

expounds Nurettin Kayabaşı, Marine Engineer 

Superintendent at IDO. The ship also has two 

Series 60 gensets each generating 600 kilowatts 

for the onboard power supply. The level 

of Kayabaşı’s satisfaction with power units from 

Friedrichshafen is shown by the fact that IDO has 

a total of 62 MTU engines in use. Almost all of 

their ferries are equipped with MTU propulsion 

and gendrive engines. The second biggest car 

ferry is powered by MTU Series 1163 engines, 

while Series 183 and 396 units can be found in 

the engine rooms of the smaller ferries. “The 

engines always deliver what our captains ask of 

them,” Kayabaşı enthuses. 

Not only ferry passengers, but anyone traveling 

into the city center by car or underground will 

also encounter the MTU name. The famous city 

landmark, the Galata floating bridge, has a Series 

183 engine to drive its emergency power generator. 

And in the underground station in the bustling 

and trendy district of Taksim another MTU 

engine makes sure the lights never go out. 

Gensets assure luxury lifestyle 

But the public transport systems aren’t the 

only places where you will come across MTU engines 

and MTU Onsite Energy plants on a tour 

of the city. If you are lucky enough to be staying 

at the five-star Divan Hotel close to the Taksim 

transport interchange and Istanbul’s most famous 



shopping and entertainment street, you can be 

equally assured that you will be able to enjoy the 

numerous facilities of this stylish accommodation 

without the disruption and inconvenience of 

power outages, thanks to the two 16V 4000 gensets 

sited on the hotel grounds that provide 

2,145 kilovolt-amperes of electrical energy. “This 

is the first time we have worked with MTU Turkey 

and I amdelighted that we have choosen this 

brand” relates Reşat Dalay, Director of Engineering 

at the Divan Istanbul Hotel. “For us, uninterrupted 

hotel service is indispensable. We can 

always rely on the generators doing their job if 

there are power cuts on the mains grid.” 

Seven months ago, the hotel was reopened 

after being completely renovated. Since then, 

the gensets have already been in use for nearly 

70 hours, sometimes for only a few seconds, 

on other occasions up to three and a half hours 

long. “We have had no problems whatsoever with 

1 

these units. I would always be in favor of using 

them again for a project of this type,” Dalay affirms. 

Inside this spacious and extensive luxury 

hotel, it is obvious to the observer that the gensets 

have plenty to do if the power goes down. 

There are more than 200 rooms and 33,000 

square meters of hotel floor space including 

health spa, restaurant suite and expansive lobby 

to be supplied with energy. To be on the safe 

side, the gensets are dimensioned for more output 

than the hotel requires at present. Having 

two of them also makes maintenance easier. 

While one is shut down, the other remains on 

standby and can supply a large proportion of the 

electricity demand. And so that hotel guests can 

enjoy a Turkish coffee in the lobby – here the 

national drink is served stylishly on a silver saucer 

with a small Turkish biscuit – or hold their 

conferences without the intrusion of noise, 

the gensets are housed in a purpose-designed 

soundproof container. 

3 

Backup for online services 

If you need a functioning phone, TV and internet 

network on your city break or for your business 

conference, another MTU Onsite Energy client, 

Türk Telekom, is responsible for providing it. Those 

wishing to visit the emergency backup gensets 

at the Istanbul head offices on their tour of the 

MTU sights need to be prepared for a trip five meters 

below ground rather than a walk around the 

grounds as at the Divan Hotel. These gensets are 

housed in a specially excav ated subterranean generator 

room. In July 2011, the previous generators 

were replaced by three 16V 4000 modules. Installation 

had been preceded by a demand analysis of 

the Turkish communications network. “With these 

more powerful units we have equipped ourselves 

for future energy requirements,” explains Ali Aydın, 

Chief Energy Manager at Türk Telekom. As a complete 

systems provider, MTU Turkey fully fitted out 

the 144-square-meter room with everything from 

the gensets to the control cabinets and electrical 

installations. Aydin has complete trust in the MTU 

Onsite Energy emergency backup units: “To date 

they have been in operation for 22 hours without 

any problems whatsoever.” One of the things he 

especially likes is that he gets a text message as 

soon as a power failure happens and the gensets 

spring into action. In the hard-fought private telecommunications 

sector, the uninterrupted service 

offered by Türk Telekom is especially important. “I 

can quite definitely recommend these gensets and 

the speedy and thorough handling of the project. 

We have also ordered MTU Onsite Energy diesel 

gensets for our site in Erzurum, this time with 

Series 2000 engines,” the manager adds. 

2 

1 Reşat Dalay, Director of Engineering at the Divan Istanbul Hotel. 

2 Turkish coffee is very elegantly served at this five-star hotel. 

3 The Istanbul Divan Hotel covers 33,000 square meters of floor 

space. Two Series 4000 diesel gensets provide the emergency 

power backup. 

The generator units run synchronously so one can 

act as backup for the other. If a power cut occurs 

just when you are standing in the generator room, 

you can experience what they do at first hand. 

Having suddenly been plunged into darkness due 

to the power failure, the generators are up and 

running – and the lights back on again – inside 

nine seconds. This Türk Telekom site requires 

around 800 kilovolt-amperes of electricity an hour. 

It handles 33 percent of the internet traffic volume 

in Turkey. It is Türk Telekom’s third largest 

facility in the country. In total, Türk Telekom has 

roughly 5,000 individual sites which the company 

is gradually adapting to the ever more widely used 

telecommunications infrastructure by installing 

more powerful backup generators. After all, not 

only private individuals are using the phone network, 

GSM services, web TV and internet much 

more frequently. Banks, the police, the education 

ministry and other security services are also connected 

up. Unthinkable what loss of system data 

would mean to such Turk Telekom customers. 


1 

1 The Türk Telekom center in Istanbul is the 

telecommunications provider’s third largest 

facility in the country. It handles roughly 

33 percent of the internet traffic volume in 

Turkey. 

2 Ali Aydın, Energy Manager at Türk Telekom 

(left), was delighted with the handling of the 

project and the installation of the Series 4000 

emergency backup gensets. Furkan Yazıcı from 

the MTU Application Engineering Department 

advised Türk Telekom on the project-specific 

design details. 

2 

Advantages of MTU Onsite 

Energy emergency backup 

gensets 

MEMO 

> Maximum reliability, rapid 

response to load changes, low fuel 

consumption and minimal emissions 

> Factory-configured and tested 

> Support from a well-established 

worldwide service network with over 

300 distribution agents, customer 

service centers and technical sales 

staff 


1 

1 The very latest equipment 

is a feature of the Emsey 

Hospital opened in 

April 2012 in the Asian 

part of Istanbul. 

2 Mechanic Murat Çöpçü 

(right) and electrician 

Ömer Şahin of the Emsey 

Hospital’s service team 

next to one of the three 

Series 2000 diesel gensets 

that provide the emergency 

power supply for the 

medical facility. 

2 

3 

48 I MTU Report 01/12 

4 

3 Serdar Toprak of the 

Sales Department at MTU 

Turkey dimensioned the 

gensets in consultation 

with Erdal Aydın (right), 

the hospital’s technical 

manager, to be able to 

provide backup power for 

all of the technical refinements 

such as the latest 

operation room equipment. 

4 The illuminated colored 

buttons in the control 

room show where the 

power is coming from at 

any moment – the city’s 

power grid or the emergency 

backup gensets.

Constant energy supply a life-saver 

A power failure at a hospital such as the recently 

constructed Emsey Hospital opened in April 2012 

could be life-threatening. The way to the hospital 

leads across one of the bridges to the Asian side 

of Istanbul. It has 31,000 square meters of floor 

space, is ultra-modern, elegantly furnished, fitted 

out with the latest equipment and, in particular, 

the most advanced communication standards. 

Physicians in Intensive Care Unites can view 

entire medical histories any time on-screen at 

the touch of a button. Furthermore, during operations, 

specialists are able to share information 

regarding the surgery via a videoconferencing 

link. In addition, all necessary materials such as 

bandages or medications are issued exclusively 

using a barcode system. Patients throughout the 

hospital have access to an emergency button 

system which can be used to call a doctor for 

assistance not only from the wards but also from 

corridors. The quantity of technical refinements 

available in modern-day hospital care is astounding 

– and will undoubtedly make patients at the 

Emsey Hospital feel they are in good hands. In 

order to systematically monitor all of those functions, 

there are 6,700 automated checkpoints. 

There are also 320 safety cameras in use, to 

monitor patients patients in all unites. They have 

to be in working order all the time, as does the 

sophisticated alarm system. “In a hospital the is 

no room for power failures. But in this region the 

mains grid is not so reliable. So, because of its 

highly sophisticated technology, we made the 

decision to have an emergency backup system 

with three Series 2000 diesel-driven generators 

from MTU Onsite Energy,” recounts Technical 

Manager, Erdal Aydın. 

The hospital comprises roughly 200 well-appointed 

rooms spread over four storeys and divided 

into five categories from single room to king 

suite decorated in bright yellow and opulently 

furnished with plaster moldings. It has nine operating 

rooms on a dedicated floor and 55 examination 

rooms for specializations of all types including 

dentistry. Roughly 70 doctors will work here. 

Emsey Hospital is also assertive on having international 

patients from other countries; based on 

their capabilities and close location to Sabiha 

Gokçen International Airport. As well as the emergency 

backup gensets, the hospital also has one 

Series 4000 gas engines supplied by MTU Onsite 

Energy that drive continuous duty generators. The 

Emsey Hospital needs 30,000 kilowatts of electricity 

every day. If you want to see its silver-painted 

generator units, you need to take a walk through 

the grounds again, as at the Divan Hotel. There 

they stand next to the diesel gensets inside their 

own soundproofed building, so the patients are 

blissfully unaware if the backup generators have 

to be called upon to supply their full capacity and 

ensure smooth operation of the hospital despite 

a power grid failure. 

Istanbul’s cityscape is bright and colorful. And it demands more and more energy because not only the economy 

is booming. One fifth of the Turkish population now lives in the city on the Bosporus. 

Multiple energy supply backup 

The electricity for the hospital is supplied via two 

separate cables – an initial safeguard in case one 

of the cables fails. As a second insurance policy, 

the 1,100-kilowatt diesel gensets are permanently 

on standby and can be started up inside seven 

seconds to ensure the supply of life-sustaining 

electricity is maintained. Within twelve seconds, 

all three of the diesel power-backup gensets are 

running in parallel. If only two of them are required 

to supply the present demand, one of 

them is automatically shut down again – a big 

plus in terms of energy-efficiency. The first seven 

seconds after a power outage are covered by a 

UPS. The emergency backup gensets have been 

in place since November last year and were comprehensively 

tested in January this year. “So far 

they have already been in action for ten hours 

following grid outages, and they have always 

responded,” Aydin summarizes. 

These are only some of the tracks left behind 

by the engines and gensets supplied by MTU 

and MTU Onsite Energy on the banks of the 

MTU Turkey and its market position 

Bosporus. More are added almost on a weekly 

basis. For example, IKEA Istanbul has emergency 

backup generators supplied by MTU Turkey, as 

do Akbank’s gigantic office tower, the Mercedes- 

Benz bus factory and textile producer Özdoku 

Acıbadem Hospitals. So those seeking out 

the MTU energy sights in Istanbul should always 

make sure they have the most up-to-date guide. 

Words: Anika Kannler 

Pictures: Robert Hack 


Ali Güzel (Sales Director, MTU Turkey) 

ali.guzel@mtu-online.com 

Tel. +90 212 867 2080 


More on that... 

...Impressions of the 

MTU guide to Istanbul 

Don’t have a QR code reader? 

Go to http://bit.ly/H2WKGY 

There has been an MTU service workshop for spare parts installation, maintenance and complete overhaul of MTU 

engines in Turkey since 1985. In the past year, the staff there overhauled more than 200 engines, including some 

custom-tailored units. The majority of them were marine and tank engines used by the Turkish Armed Forces. In 

2002, the company moved to a new building providing office space, test benches and workshops in the Hadimköy 

district of Istanbul. Cylinder liners for the MTU Series 4000 engines have been made here since 2009. Since its entry 

into the Onsite Energy market one and a half years ago, MTU Turkey has become an important player in the market. 

The brand is positioned as a system supplier of tailor-made solutions and has built up a solid base in the continuous 

power segment for gas engines. 

ONLINE 

MEMO 


Interview with head of MTU service Christian Beiner 

”More than engines” 

The times are long past that engines were judged solely on 

the basis of power output and price. Today, customers have 

to make a profit from the vehicles and machines they run. 

Readiness for use, operating costs and availability are the 

watchwords. The vital ingredient in all of these things is 

service. The service concept has undergone profound change 

in recent years. A shift has taken place from situation-based 

problem-solving to agreements for comprehensive customer 

support. Christian Beiner has been worldwide head of 

MTU’s service business for a year now. In this interview, he 

talks about the aspirations of the global service team, trends 

in service and what fascinates him about his work. 

What is your idea of good service? 

Tognum’s mission is to set the standard as the preferred partner 

for power generation and drive solutions. That also includes 

service. We want our customers to buy our products not only because 

of their technological superiority, but because we provide 

them with outstanding all-round service, anywhere in the world. 

I set a high premium on 'peace of mind'. We don’t just want to sell 

engines, systems and service products to our customers, we want 

them to rest in the knowledge that we are there for them at all 

times, above all in critical situations. 

And what are your plans for meeting that target? 

We focus our activities on four areas. Obviously, ensuring spare 

parts availability, expanding our remanufacturing capabilities, 

«We want our provide our customers 

with outstanding all-round service, anywhere 

in the world. » 

lowering engine life-cycle costs, improving logistics and building 

more training centers form the foundation. Those are the building 

blocks of customer service. Then comes qualifying our service 

partners and expanding our service network and business in 

countries where we have customers and see potential. Our third 

mainstay is developing services such as remote tracking, diagnosis, 

and condition-based maintenance. But above all, we aim for 

greater customer confidence. 

How do you make MTU Service globally accessible? 

We already have over 1,200 service outlets worldwide, many of 

them in remote locations. One example is Manaus in Brazil, a 

budding metropolis in the state of Amazonas which was without 

any major power supply infrastructure. Here, our customers 

have erected several power stations containing hundreds of gensets 

based on our Series 4000 engines. In the space of just a few 

months we worked with MTU do Brazil, our subsidiary, to create 

an infrastructure for keeping those power stations up and running 

– we set up a workshop, trained personnel, invested in tools and 

spare parts and organized a 24/7 service. In other areas where 

there is no adequate service structure in place, we work with the 

globally operating OEMs. We provide them with qualifications and 

the authorization to carry out service so that they can maintain 

our engines using their own systems. 

How important are the qualifications of service staff? 

Very important, if not crucial. We have over 1,400 of our own service 

staff and a good 2,000 more in distribution and service outlets. 

These co-workers have daily contact with customers and 

play an important role representing the company. Irrespective of 

whether they are direct employees or work in subsidiaries or for 

partners, all of them regularly attend training courses and must 

pass a test at the end of them. Only those who pass the tests are 

permitted to carry out work on MTU engines and systems. And we 

are constantly expanding our training repertoire. Greater emphasis 

is being placed on electronics, electrical engineering, project 

management and communication. Our co-workers are aware of 

how crucial service is to our company. It makes a substantial contribution 

to revenue, helps to stabilize business, especially when 

the economy is slack, and is important for customer bonding. 

Many customers wish to service their engines and systems 

themselves and are trained by MTU staff in special training 

centers. Where are these training centers located? 


Christian Beiner has been head of the MTU and MTU 

Onsite Energy Service business since the end of 2010. 

After-sales

“You have the concepts of 

‘Value’ and ‘Care’. ‘Value’ 

stands for the added value 

which we offer the customer. 

‘Care’ means that we 

take care of the customer 

and his interests”, Christian 

Beiner explains. 

We have a total of 28 training centers on all five continents. The 

latest one was opened last September in the USA. Besides customers, 

distributors train in our centers too so that they can give 

courses in their own facilities using our concept. 

Apart from buying brand-new MTU engines or spare parts, 

the customer also has the option of purchasing a remanufactured 

engine or component. He returns his used part or 

engine and receives a completely re-conditioned engine or 

part. What is the benefit? 

Remanufacturing has a whole lot of advantages. A customer 

sends back his used engine, or even just a part, and receives in 

return an engine or part that we have re-conditioned to the proven 

MTU quality standard. Only this time, he gets his engine or part 

more quickly than he would a new product, and at a much more 

favorable price. He also benefits from the same warranty cover as 

for a new engine or part. The remanufacturing process is also interesting 

from an environment point of view. All too often, engines 

and parts are disposed of when they could be re-conditioned at a 

reasonable price and used again. 

Central to good service is the supply of spare parts. If they 

don’t have the right component, service staff can neither 

repair nor service an engine. How do you go about making 

sure that spare parts are always available? 

The provision of spare parts is the be-all and end-all of service. 

And it’s getting more complicated. Since we constantly expand 

our product portfolio, we have a growing number of variables to 

handle. At the same time, our sales force has the job of ensuring 

that our engine populations grow at a healthy rate. And we have 

customers operating our engines in all four corners of the globe. 

To underpin all that, we are investing heavily in logistics and interlinking 

our spare parts warehouses in the US, Germany and Asia 

through a common IT system. Soon we are planning to integrate 

the spare parts inventories of our subsidiaries into that system 

to create a global on-line warehouse which I would compare with 

Amazon’s electronic commerce company. There, you can 

order a product from anywhere and have it delivered promptly 

from whichever stock it’s available in. 

MTU calls its service portfolio ‘MTU ValueCare’. What does 

that mean exactly? 

You have the concepts of ‘Value’ and ‘Care’. ‘Value’ stands for 

the added value which we offer the customer. ‘Care’ means that 

we take care of the customer and his interests. We build up 

‘Value-Care’ as needed by a region or individual customer and 

consider it important not to supply the same performance package 

to everyone. Although all customers basically want the same 

things – reliability and swift, expert assistance at a competitive 

price – you can hardly compare the service needs of a yacht 

owner with those of a mine operator. That’s why we have given 

ValueCare a modular structure and divided it into three areas – 

‘ValueService’, ‘ValueSpares’ and ‘ValueExchange’. ‘ValueSpares’ 

is about high availability and swift delivery of top-quality spare 

parts and consumables. ‘ValueExchange’ refers to our repertoire 

for remanufacturing parts and assembling and delivering complet- 


After-sales 

ely re-conditioned engines. Our third mainstay is ‘ValueService’, 

covering the traditional service jobs such as supplying spare parts 

and supporting customers, as well as the more complex task of 

compiling all-inclusive service and maintenance agreements. 

For which products is service available? 

For all engines, drive and propulsion systems and power generation 

systems that we sell without exception, irrespective of whether we 

manufacture them ourselves or purchase them from partners. 

Does 'without exception' also apply to engines at the lower 

end of the power range? 

Today, we directly provide warranties and servicing for engines at 

the lower end of the power range – currently the Series 460, 500 

and 900 units. Mercedes, our partners in the MTU service network, 

have also given us access to over 250 of their service workshops. 

With the support of our new majority shareholders, we 

are intending to build on that partnership. At the same time, we 

are currently analyzing how we can use the existing Daimler and 

Rolls-Royce service networks in locations where we are not adequately 

represented. 

What direction will service take in the next few years? 

There is growing emphasis on achieving the right mix of globalization 

and regionalization. We have to provide service locally all 

over the world, but to global standards. And our customers expect 

excellence, even in the most remote locations. Furthermore, 

they are tending more and more to look beyond purchase price at 

the overall life-cycle costs of a drive or power generation system. 

Apart from the purchase price, these include costs for maintenance 

and the consumption of fuel and other fluids and lubricants. 

We are constantly searching for solutions that improve reliability 

and availability and lower the operating costs of our engines and 

systems so that our customers can be more successful. 

And what are the technological trends? 

The move is definitely towards greater use of the possibilities 

of IT – not only for knowledge management and better warehouse 

logistics, but also for putting our engines and systems 

on-line. It certainly won’t be long before our engines are allocated 

IP addresses and linked up to a global master system. That 

will enable us to compare actual and target engine data and give 

specific maintenance advice for raising availability and lowering 

life cycle costs even further. Initial steps have already been taken 

with our remote systems for gas engines and plants, but we still 

have a long way to go. 

To close, a more personal question. You're a well-known 

face at MTU and familiar with a lot of customers. Where 

have you worked in the company to date? 

I’ve actually spent my whole career within the group. I started at 

Mercedes as an apprentice mechanic, then I studied engineering 

and was taken on by MTU, where I first worked on developing gasturbine 

drive systems. I was also involved in the propulsion system 

project for the Destiero yacht and it was then that I came into 

«It certainly won’t be long before our 

engines are allocated IP addresses and linked 

up to a global master system. » 

close contact with customers, which was not necessarily always 

a pleasant experience. It was then that I noticed how much I enjoyed 

identifying customer challenges and coming up with solutions. 

As a project engineer in marine propulsion, then as head of 

sales, and more recently as head of applications engineering, 

I have had a great deal of customer contact. I took the lead of our 

worldwide service business at the end of 2010 and am also 

responsible for MTU’s global service and sales network. 

What appeals to you about your work? 

Working in an international organization with colleagues, staff, 

partners and customers of different origins, who have diverse 

talents as well as different outlooks and needs. I also find it 

inspiring to take on a new departmental area and shape it for 

the future with strong backing from senior management. 

Interview: Lucie Dammann; Pictures: Stefan Sölll 


Christian Beiner 

christian.beiner@mtu-online.com 

Tel. +49 7541 90-3451 


Industry 

Sugar beet harvesters with MTU engines 

The tale of the Tiger 

and the Mouse 

Michael Gruber has been an engineer with agricultural 

machinery manufacturers Ropa for 22 years. Although 

he knows the features and functions of the 

Euro-Mouse and Euro-Tiger inside out, it is always a 

challenge for him to improve the machines with each 

new model. 

Early September. The days are getting shorter 

and lush green crop fields being turned 

into bare brown expanses inside a few hours. 

Along the edges, sugar beets are stacked up 

in piles many meters long. What you don’t 

see from the outside is that under the heaps 

of sugar beet it is absolutely teeming with 

mice who have discovered it is warm and 

dry in there. Unfortunately, they can’t enjoy 

that cozy comfort for very long. Only a few 

days after harvesting, the sugar beets are 

gathered up and cleaned by a large loader. 

Somewhat paradoxically, it is called a Mouse. 

The beet loader was invented by Erich Fischer. 

When the backyard tinkerer from Eggmühl in 

Bavaria tried out his home-made beet loader in a 

field for the first time, the mice fled. Because the 

machine couldn’t pick up all the beets in the beginning, 

the farm workers shoveled the leftovers 

onto the loader with pitchforks. And every time 

a mouse was seen scurrying out of the beet pile, 

they shouted, “There goes a mouse”. Soon 

Fischer came to be known among farmers as 

“the man with the mouse”. He sold the patent 

for his beet loader to the agricultural machinery 

manufacturer Ropa in 1987. But the name 

mouse stuck. “Nobody has heard of a beet cleaner/loader 

but everyone knows the Ropa Mouse,” 

explains Michael Gruber. He is an engineer 

at Ropa and involved in the ongoing development 

of Fischer’s Mouse design. 

Fully synchronized 

Gruber knows his way around. He has worked 

at Ropa for 22 years. “The market dictates the 

requirements,” he says and also introduces the 

Mouse’s right-hand machine – the Tiger beet harvester. 

It harvests the beets and stacks them in 

long piles along the edge of the field. The Mouse 

then loads them onto trucks. Nothing is left to 

chance because the beet business is a very tightly 

orchestrated operation. From early September 

to the first frosts there are only a few weeks 

for the farmers to dig the beet out of the ground 

and get it to the sugar beet factories as quickly 

as possible. Nothing happens by accident, it is all 

precisely planned. The factory determines right 

down to the minute when the Mouse loads up the 

beet harvest from which farms and works a few 

days back from there to schedule when the Tiger 

needs to pull up the harvest. 

Talented allrounder 

When the day arrives, the work starts with the 

Tiger – a massive yellow machine almost 15 meters 

long and a good three meters wide. As soon 

as the defoliator unit is lowered, the flails start to 

remove the leaves from the beets. Next comes 

the topper unit, which slices off the leaf stalks 

and the very tops of the beets. In the third stage, 

the lifting shares – blades resembling plow 

shares – lift the beets out of the ground and 

gather them up. Various strainers on the Tiger 

clean the dirt off the beets at the same time as 

conveying them to the storage hold. Once the 

hold is full, the Tiger unloads the beets at the 

edge of the field to form a long pile. Then along 

comes the big Mouse and chases away all the 

little mice that have taken advantage of the cover 

provided by the beet stack. It extends its rollers 

to a width of ten meters as it approaches 


1 

2 

3 

4 5 

1 The Mouse eats its way through the beet pile. The loader can convey as much as 560 tonnes of sugar beet an hour. 2 The collector system consists of 18 rollers and extends to up to 

ten meters wide. 3 In the process of being loaded onto the truck the beets are also cleaned. 4 To maintain stability, the Mouse has a counterbalance arm which can be extended as 

required. 5 The MTU Series 926 engine meets the EU IIIB emissions standard with the aid of an SCR catalytic converter. 


1 

2 

3 

4 5 

1 Talented allrounder: the Tiger first strips off the leaves and tops the beets. 2 Lifting shares lift the beets out of the ground without damaging them and deliver them onto a conveyor 

belt. 3 From there they are carried to the storage hold. Once the hold is full, the Tiger unloads the beet at the edge of the field to form a long pile. 4 The harvester is only in use for 

just about 50 days. In that time, the engine has to be dependable. 5 Ropa puts its faith in an MTU Series 502 unit. 


Industry 

the beet pile. They literally drag in the beets and convey them 

upwards through the Mouse. In the process, the beets go 

through a second cleaning phase before passing along a conveyor 

and ending up in the back of a truck. A Mouse beet loader 

can collect and convey as much as 300,000 tonnes of 

sugar beet in a season. 

Absolute reliability 

The Tiger is in use for roughly 50 days a year. In that time 

it harvests up to 100,000 tonnes of beet. The Mouse then 

needs up to 120 days to load the gigantic beet stacks onto 

the trucks. From the beginning of September to the last 

of the beet in January, it is working for between 1,800 and 

2,000 hours. “In that time the machines must not fail on any 

account,” Gruber relates. Because, if the weather changes, it 

could destroy tonnes and tonnes of harvest. Ropa has put its 

faith in dependable and powerful MTU engines for many years. 

The Tiger harvester is powered by an eight-cylinder MTU 

Series 502 engine capable of close to 600 bhp. A Series 926 

unit provides the power for the Mouse. “These engines can run 

for as long as 10,000 hours without major maintenance. That 

is the most important criterion for our clients,” Gruber elucidates. 

And he points out another advantage they offer: “These 

models are based on Daimler technology. You can buy spare 

parts for them anywhere in the world. That is crucial, because 

in the harvesting season we have to be able to 

supply them within a matter of hours.” 

The Ropa Tiger and Mouse can be found on 

farms all over the world. As well as in Germany, 

France and Poland, which are the largest beet 

producers in Europe, you can see the big yellow 

machines on fields in Russia, the Ukraine and 

Moldavia as well. Mouse and Tiger will be found 

working in America and Canada too. And since 

2010, Ropa has been making its first inroads into 

China. There are already seven machines in service 

there and six more are on order for Chinese 

farms. Wherever these harvesters and loaders 

do their jobs, the farmers are reminded every 

autumn once again why one of the machines is 

called a Mouse. 

Words: Katrin Beck 

Pictures: Ropa 


Dietmar Wetzel 

dietmar.wetzel@mtu-online.de 

Tel. +49 7541 90-7033 

You rarely get the chance 

to see this many Tigers 

in a field at once. The 

deployment times are so 

tightly scheduled that 

the multitalented machines 

are only on view 

for short periods. 


Development 

’Journey through an Engine’ can be viewed on the MTU YouTube channel. It explains the technologies which make MTU engines clean and cost-efficient. 

Internal flight 

Sweeping through the engine at lightning speed, 

through the intake housing into the turbocharger 

compressor housing, through the charge-air 

cooler and into the combustion chamber. That 

is something that not only myriad air molecules, 

but now also viewers of the new MTU technology 

animation ‘Journey through an Engine’ can 

do. It shows the inner workings of a Series 4000 

R44 rail engine. The five-minute film explains the 

technologies that make MTU diesel engines clean 

and efficient. 

The virtual flight starts with a cold air molecule 

that passes through the air intake housing 

to the turbocharger. There, the air is compressed 

to as much as five bar. After being cooled in the 

charge-air cooler, it passes on to the cylinders. 

There, fuel is injected and finely atomized and the 

low-emission combustion process starts. Some 

of the exhaust produced is diverted off from the 

exhaust system, cooled and returned to the combustion 

chamber with the intake air. Finally, the 

low-emission exhaust leaves the combustion 

chamber and flows to the turbocharger turbine. 

The energy of the exhaust drives the turbocharger 

and the cycle repeats itself. In addition to the 

in-engine technology used to minimize pollutants, 

a diesel particulate filter traps and burns the soot 

particles in a controlled process. 

Words: Alina Welsen 


Alina Welsen 

alina.welsen@tognum.com 

Tel. +49 7541 90-6030 

More on this... 

…the 3D engine fly-through 

on the MTU YouTube channel 

Don’t have a QR code reader? 

Go to http://bit.ly/GQzSjn 

ONLINE 


Talking of... 

…turbochargers 

Read more about the function and benefits of turbochargers on pages 4 to 11. 

Imprint 

IMPRINT 

MTU eReport 

MTU Report The magazine of the MTU and MTU Onsite Energy brands Published by Tognum AG; Publisher’s representative: 

Wolfgang Boller EDITOR IN CHIEF Lucie Dammann, e-mail: lucie.dammann@tognum.com, Tel. +49 7541 90-2974 Editors 

Katrin Beck, e-mail: katrin.beck@tognum.com, Tel. +49 7541 90-6535; Bryan Mangum, e-mail: bryan.mangum@tognum. 

com, Tel. +1 248 560-8484 Other authors Chad Fichardt, Katrin Hanger, Anika Kannler, Berenike Nordmann, Wolfgang 

Stolba, Mike Principato, Alina Welsen EDITOR’S ADDRESS Tognum AG, Maybachplatz 1, 88045 Friedrichshafen DESIGN 

AND PRODUCTION designmanufaktur|ries, 88214 Ravensburg PROOFREADING Sigrid Hartmann, 88697 Bermatingen 

ORIGINATION wagner ...digitale medien, 88690 Uhldin gen-Mühlhofen PRINTED BY Druckerei Holzer, Weiler im Allgäu 

ISSN-Nr 09 42-82 59, Reproduction quoting source permitted. WEBSITE ADDRESS http://www.mtu-online.com 

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tab, “MTU Report”. 

MTU Report is available as a free downloadable version from: www.mtu-online.com, “About MTU” tab, “MTU Report”. 


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