Site Manufactures Light Sheet Metal Material
On Thursday, Hawker Beechcraft
Corporation (HBC) officially opened its new aerospace manufacturing
facility in Chihuahua, Mexico. HBC’s Chihuahua Operation has
established an aerospace light sheet-metal assembly facility in
Chihuahua to enhance its competitive position in the world market
and develop a reliable supply base to support the current and
future needs of its Wichita facility.
The operation will initially employ up to 250 local technicians
and staff with growth opportunities for 650 employees in the next
five years. Federal dignitaries, Chihuahua’s State Governor
Jose Reyes Baeza and Hawker Beechcraft senior leaders celebrated
with an inauguration ceremony at the new facility.
"We are increasing our manufacturing footprint to meet current
demand and aggressive growth plans," said Jim Schuster, chairman
and CEO of Hawker Beechcraft Corporation. "This facility opening
joins other examples of recent expansion and renovations in Little
Rock, AR, the United Kingdom and Wichita, KS; the opening of a new
service center in India; and our increased international sales
presence."
The HBC Chihuahua facility will support current and projected
workforce needs and also alleviate space constraints at HBC’s
US-based manufacturing facilities. The company’s Wichita,
Salina and Little Rock facilities are all growing. There are
currently more than 200 open hourly requisitions and more than 500
overall requisitions that need to be filled.
Mexico, and Chihuahua in particular, has become an aviation hub
for many of the largest manufacturers in the industry, including
Cessna, Bombardier, Gulfstream, Honeywell, Goodrich and many
more.
Representatives with HBC say the new facility will also
strengthen HBC’s presence in Mexico, where the company
already has a wire-harness manufacturing facility with Labinal, a
very strong dealer (Aerolíneas Ejecutivas) and service
center/fixed-base operation. Mexico has traditionally been a strong
market for Hawker and Beechcraft products. There are roughly 750
business-turbine aircraft operating in the country, 168 (or 22
percent) of which are HBC aircraft.
An important factor in selecting Chihuahua was the ability to
train specialized operators for the aerospace industry through the
High Technology Training Center CENALTEC Campus Chihuahua, a unique
training center in Mexico for machining, sheet metal, painting and
other techniques and processes that not only prepares specialized
technicians, but also certifies them. HBC Chihuahua recently
graduated its first training class of 30 employees.
"The facility will be one of the most advanced light sheet-metal
assembly operations in the aerospace industry," said Jose Reyes
Baeza, Chihuahua State Governor. "Chihuahua was chosen because of
its strategic geographical location, the quality and stability of
the labor market and the availability of local suppliers, among
others."
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