Tognum invests US$ 22.5 million in R&D centre

Manufacturer Tognum is to invest US$ 22.5 million expanding its new diesel engine test facilities at its MTU Aiken plant in Graniteville, South Carolina, US. The funds will double the centre’s development capacity with the addition of two new test cells for off-highway diesel engines.

Tognum CEO Dr Ulrich Dohle said, “In the medium term, the plant expansion enables us to prepare for the planned volume growth.”

The new Aiken research and development facility opened in April this year and cost US$ 40 million to build. The centre aims to develop new technologies and more powerful versions of the company’s MTU Series 2000 and Series 4000 off-highway diesel engines.

Construction of the new engine test cells is scheduled to begin in September and be completed by March 2015. Tognum said it had spent US$ 100 million in Aiken County since 2010, when it relocated a factory from Detroit to the Graniteville site.

Joerg Klisch, vice president of Tognum America, said, “This new expansion project will enable us to enhance our engine development capabilities and will result in the completion of one of the most advanced diesel engine development facilities in North America.”