English - MTU Onsite Energy

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