Opening of the consolidation of the Christchurch Engine Centre

On Friday May 9 I attended the opening of the new facility at 115 Orchard Road that consolidates the Christchurch Engine Centres activities at one location.

This joint venture  between Air New Zealand and Pratt and Whitney is  an impressive and world class undertaking. It specialises maintenance of the V2500 engine that powers the Airbus 320 and maintains V2500 engines from all around the world. Obviously one of its key accounts is Air New Zealand  with its expanding fleet of Airbus 320s.

A few interesting stats emerged during the tour after the formal opening.

• Each engine costs around $13 million new 
• There can be up to 20 engines in various stages in maintenance, at the facility, at any one time.
• It costs around $100,000 to  transport an engine for maintenance, from the northern hemisphere, to Christchurch and back. 
• Despite this, the Christchurch Engine Centre is internationally competitive and has a well-earned reputation of being world’s best in its field. 
• A V2500 engine is good for 20,000 take-offs and landings. It is the take-offs/landings that cause engine wear. The actual in-flight wear is minimal. 
• Every individual engine part has its own serial number and can be traced throughout its life. 
• New Zealand  flown V2500s wear very well because our air is clear, cool and dense. All good for minimising engine wear. 
• There are over 200 engineers working at the Christchurch Engine Centre. 
• The  consolidation of the Maintenance facility cost over $25million. 
• The consolidation has enabled a marked increase in the number of engines that can be serviced at the facility.  
• The Christchurch  Engine Centre is an important and highly valued contributor to the Christchurch Economy 

As an a addendum: Some interesting governance and other quotes from Professor Goran Roos presentation 'The Future of Manufacturing' May 8

• The boards responsibility is to do risk evaluation about strategies bought to the table by management
• The fundamental role of governance is to ensure risk is minimised.
• The default answer at board level is always yes until the Board can prove it is no.
• If the board starts with a no then it has no faith in management.
• The dynamics of the business environment must be matched by the diversity of the governance team.

• Our future is all about educating our young in Science, Technology, Mathematics and Manufacturing
• The world language of business is bad English.
• In great companies the leadership tenure is long
• Exceptional management means doing small things better than the competitors every time, all the time.
• Great companies avoid gaining sales through discounting or aggressive pricing.

petert@cecc.org.nz

www.cecc.org.nz