Manufacturing Plant To Move To Airport In Zhenjiang, China

AeroJones Aviation Technology, the manufacturer of the CTLS LSA, has been producing airplanes in Xiamen, China. However, that location is set to change.

“The owner of AeroJones Aviation is Jones Chen, a very successful businessman with operations in Xiamen, said Hsieh Chi-Tai, General Aviation Development Vice President for AeroJones Aviation Technology Co., Ltd. "He recently completed negotiations to acquire property in Zhenjiang adjacent to the Dalu General Airport near Zhenjiang City.”

"I have a long interest in light aviation. After acquiring rights to build CTLS, I had a vision for a new factory in the right location," said Chen. "Following a search of possible locations, Zhenjiang was judged to be the best choice for this enterprise.”

In developing a new factory, AeroJones Aviation had multiple goals.

One of the most important requirements was access to an airport. Fully manufactured aircraft like the AeroJones CTLS must be test flown before they are prepared for delivery to customers. In the past doing this task from its base in Xiamen, China was time consuming, costly, and not efficient as airplanes had to be disassembled, shipped to a distant airfield, reassembled, flown, disassembled again, and brought back to the factory to prepare them for shipment or other delivery.

Another goal is efficiency. With the new Zhenjiang facility, all manufacturing steps will be easier, less costly, and much more efficient, all of which will contribute to better values for customers buying the CTLS.

Access by aircraft is helpful. Flight schools or other buyers of the modern and sophisticated CTLS will be able to fly to Dalu General Airport to see the factory and take demonstrations flights to confirm their purchase — all at the factory where CTLS is produced.

The location in China is also valuable. With the large, wealthy city of Shanghai only a one hour high speed train ride away, customers for CTLS will have an easier time visiting the new factory.

The original factory in Xiamen has done an excellent job of using the available facilities for aircraft manufacturing. Although this location has worked well for staff training and building a group of aircraft, AeroJones Aviation is aware it must grow to meet the demand anticipated for China and other countries in the Asia-Pacific region where AeroJones operates. The new Zhenjiang facility can be perfectly planned and has room to expand as business grows.

"We are very pleased about the relationship with leaders of Zhenjiang. We look forward to a long and prosperous relationship,” Chen said.

As the city leadership prepares for AeroJones to start airplane manufacturing, a team from Zhenjiang traveled to various locations in the United States where they could learn more about airport operations, manufacturing, aeronautical education, and more. These officials visited the Spruce Creek residential community built around a runway and airport in Florida. They also visited the world’s largest aeronautical university called Embry Riddle before traveling to other business visits in America.

Primary markets for AeroJones Aviation include China and Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Japan, Korea, Thailand, and other countries in the region. AeroJones Aviation is shipping fully manufactured aircraft to all these Asia-Pacific countries.

(Images provided with AeroJones news release)

FMI: www.aerojones.com