May 03, 2012
GRANITEVILLE — MTU welcomed to its plant several hundred of its mining customers and distributors who were treated to manufacturing tours and demonstrations throughout the day Thursday and was later praised by Congressman Joe Wilson as being a “success story.”MTU customers and distributors from Canada, Europe and Asia got an up-close and personal look at the Series 2000 and Series 4000 engines the plant produces for applications in the mining market around the world.Though MTU makes engines for marine, rail, power generation, oil and gas, agriculture, construction and industrial and defense markets, mining was the focus Thursday.MTU engines power haul trucks, wheel loaders and excavators, underground mining machines and drilling rigs.”We’re so proud of the engines produced here we want you to buy more,” Wilson said, which drew chuckles from the crowd.Not only do the engines manufactured by MTU serve a wide range of markets, but they also do so cleanly, said Tognum America spokesperson Gary Mason.The new generation of Series 2000s and Series 4000s meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s Tier 4 emissions standard without the need for exhaust gas after-treatment and with lower fuel consumption, he said.Tier 4 emission standards are being phased in to 2015 and require emissions of particulate matter and nitrogen oxides to be further reduced by about 90 percent.When MTU announced Aiken County was to be the home of its new manufacturing facility two years ago, the company pledged to invest $45 million and create 250 new jobs over four years. MTU is already employing 250 individuals and achieved its investment goal by the end of 2011.Even more is on the horizon for MTU with a new test and technical support building now under construction. Two cells will test new engines for emissions and durability. The expansion represents a $40 million investment in Aiken County and will create 20 new jobs over the next two years.”MTU has been such a success story. It made commitments, filled its commitments and did it in record time,” Wilson said. “We want you to know you’re in a community that welcomes you, welcomes economic investment. You can’t find a better place than South Carolina.”Haley Hughes is the Aiken County government reporter and has been with the Aiken Standard since February 2007. Hughes, a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University, hails from Knoxville, Tenn.
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