The Rolls-Royce Power Systems subsidiary in Istanbul - MTU Turkey - is now a quarter of a century old. It was established in Istanbul on April 19, 1990 under the name MTU Motor Türbin San ve Tic AS. Prior to that, a workshop in Turkey dating back to 1985 had carried out parts assembly and maintenance jobs and major overhauls of MTU engines.
Today, MTU Turkey employs a 150-strong workforce in sales, service and component manufacture. The MTU brand is part of Rolls-Royce Power Systems within the Land & Sea Division of Rolls-Royce.
More than 500 MTU Onsite Energy electrical generator sets are now in service in Turkey, including 50 gas-powered compact cogeneration modules used to power factories, hospitals, hotels and shopping malls. To date, almost 1,500 MTU engines have been supplied to customers in Turkey, Azerbaijan and North Cyprus. "Our philosophy is to offer customers a customised system solution. We see ourselves as a flexible systems solutions provider and not a simple commodity supplier," explained Ekrem Kuraloglu, head of MTU Turkey.
Sales and service operations, a repair workshop, spare parts logistics and administration have all been housed together at the Hadimköy site near Istanbul since 2002. The site covers some 16,000 square meters of space and has test stands for testing engines with power outputs up to 8,825 kW. In autumn 2009, a production line for Series 4000 cylinder liners was established and officially started production in January 2010. Over 250,000 cylinder liners have been produced there to date. Starting in 2010 MTU Turkey deployed a full sales and service network, with the support of independent service partners, throughout Turkey which resulted in greater customer access, local support and remarkable turnover growth over the last 5 years. Customer loyalty has driven that growth and recently MTU Turkey inaugurated a new sales, marketing and service centre in Istanbul about a year ago. MTU Turkey has positioned itself as a systems supplier providing customer-specific solutions. The business has a firm foothold in Turkey's marine propulsion market, with MTU engines powering most ferries that navigate the Bosphorus and also a key player in the national naval and defence sector - notably by having secured major military contracts such as Milgem and Altay. MTU Turkey is also a valued partner in the field of power generation with its diesel and gas gensets for emergency and continuous combined heat and power applications.