First US Assembly Plant For Brazilian Planemaker

Embraer broke ground Thursday on its first US aircraft assembly plant and customer center at Florida's Melbourne International Airport. Present at the ceremony were Florida Governor Charlie Crist, Melbourne City Mayor Harry Goode, and other distinguished State and local officials manning ceremonial shovels, along with Embraer President & CEO Frederico Fleury Curado.

The Brazilian planemaker tells ANN the new facility will be dedicated to its executive jet business and is scheduled for completion in 2010. When full capacity is reached, up to eight Phenom business jets will be produced every month at the facility.

The Melbourne plant will also become Embraer's Executive Jets Customer Center for the configuration of the Phenom, Legacy and Lineage jets. Customers will be able to design their executive jet's interior with the use of high-end 3D visualization technology, supported by a showroom with a vast collection of interior finishing materials.

"Today's groundbreaking celebrates a milestone for Embraer, by launching its first US assembly plant, devoted to the executive jet business," said Frederico Fleury Curado, Embraer President and CEO. "We are excited to begin building our Melbourne facility, strengthening our presence in the great State of Florida, which dates back to 1979."

"As Florida continues to emerge as a leader in the American aviation industry, we're proud to celebrate this achievement for our state, which is a big win in our economic development plan," added Crist. "The growth of Embraer in Florida demonstrates the strength of our aviation sector and highly skilled workforce. I congratulate everyone involved in advancing this project to where we are today."

The 150,000-square-foot facility will house a final assembly line capable of producing both the Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 executive jets, as well as a paint shop and a delivery and customer design center.

FMI: www.embraer.com