Rolls-Royce’s MTU Aiken manufacturing facility is a 395,000 square-foot-campus, which produces off-highway MTU-brand diesel engines, opened in the fall of 2010 when the company decided to move its manufacturing operations from Detroit, MI to Graniteville, Aiken County, SC. What started off as an assembly plant for two product lines has continually expanded in size and scope over the past decade to become much more.

“The original goal of the Aiken plant was to carve out our own space where we could take greater control over our destiny and our manufacturing here in the US,” said Joerg Klisch, Director of Operations at the MTU Aiken plant. “Everything that we’ve been able to achieve here over the past 10 years reflects the positive culture and spirit of innovation that we have. We have continually challenged ourselves to take on the next program or develop the next competency, all with a focus on developing our people and our community along the way.”

Assembly and Machining on-site
The facility began with the assembly of MTU Series 2000 and Series 4000 diesel engines, which together cover a power range from 760 – 4,000 hp and are used in a variety of off-highway applications in the construction, industrial, power generation, mining and oil & gas markets. After its official opening in December 2010, where the focus was solely on getting assembly operations up and running, the plant brought machining operations online soon after, allowing the facility to machine its own components on-site.

Investment in Research and Development
Investments at the facility over the years have resulted in the addition of the plant’s Research & Development ……….