Manufacturing Facility To Be Located In Ogden, Utah, Bringing
"Hundreds" Of Jobs
Adam Aircraft announced
Wednesday it will open a manufacturing and assembly operation in
Ogden, UT, bringing with it "hundreds" of aviation-related jobs.
There was no immediate indication from the company, however, about
when the plant would start hiring -- or when they might actually
certificate an airplane.
ANN Note: The following statement was sent
to us by Adam Aircraft... and based on past experience, we advise
you to take it with a grain of salt.
The Adam Aircraft facility will be located at the Kemp Ogden
Airport Gateway Center. The center is a new, forty-seven acre,
state-of-the-art, business park, featuring a highly functional
layout offering both air and groundside access. Kemp Development
Company has worked closely with Ogden City and the State of Utah to
create a business environment that is nationally competitive and
supportive of aerospace manufacturing activities. Adam Aircraft is
leasing twenty-two thousand square feet in the newly completed Kemp
Jet Services terminal to manufacture and assemble A500 and A700
aircraft. To accommodate anticipated growth, Kemp will develop, by
phases, new facilities for Adam Aircraft on adjacent sites.
"Our company is fortunate to have a backlog in excess of two
years on both the A500 Centerline Twin and the A700 AdamJet," said
Rick Adam, Chief Executive Officer of Adam Aircraft. "Ramping up
production is a top priority and we believe Utah will be an
excellent location for adding to our existing capacity in Colorado.
The quality of the workforce in Utah, the capabilities of the
airport facility, and the superior design of the Kemp development
were key motivators in our decision process."
"This announcement is particularly gratifying because Adam
Aircraft conducted a thorough review during its site selection
process," said Utah Governor Jon M. Huntsman, Jr. "Adam Aircraft
recognized that Utah has the skilled workers it needs to establish
and grow its manufacturing and assembly operations."
According to the "Annual Industry Review & 2005 Outlook"
published by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association, the
aviation industry has created 25,000 aerospace manufacturing jobs
within five years of the passing of the General Aviation
Revitalization Act (GARA) in 1994. In addition, according to this
report, "The U.S. Department of Labor estimates that for every
aerospace manufacturing job created, three supporting jobs are also
created."
With 430 employees and more than 100,000 square feet of
facilities, Adam Aircraft will use the Gateway Center to parallel
its ongoing business in Colorado. In anticipation of FAA Type
Certification, Adam Aircraft has already begun manufacturing
customer aircraft. There are currently five customer aircraft
undergoing the construction process in Colorado, and with the help
of the Ogden facility, the company plans significant production
rate growth in 2005.
The A700 AdamJet, a contender in the closely followed Very Light
Jet (VLJ) market, is the company's follow-on aircraft to the A500
Centerline Twin. The A700 uses carbon-fiber materials for the
airframe and jet engines manufactured by Williams International.
Adam predicts customer deliveries of the AdamJet will begin next
year.
Final E-I-C Note: ANN strongly doubts that Adam
can be delivering A700s next year... not when a conforming flight
test vehicle has yet to be airborne and numerous problems are being
reported about both the A500 and A700 certification program.