Leaving Trendy West Palm Beach for Industrial Opa-Locka

Beacon Council (Miami-Dade County's official economic development partnership) President and Chief Executive Officer Frank Nero, together with Safire Aircraft Company President and Chief Executive Officer Camilo Salomon, announced on Wednesday that the new location of Safire's headquarters and aircraft development facility will be at Opa-locka Airport -- a move that the company says, "will create over 1,000 new direct and indirect jobs, including engineering and various production positions over the next 3 years."

In one of the largest projects in the history of Opa-locka Airport, Safire has plans to build a new 500,000 square foot, $40 million aircraft assembly facility. The facilities at Opa-locka Airport were a perfect fit for Safire's development needs, and now plans for the assembly plant construction are nearly finalized with groundbreaking scheduled for late summer 2004.

"This marks the beginning of a long-term symbiotic relationship between government and industry," said Salomon. "The government leaders' and economic developers' foresight and commitment to enhancing the quality of life in the region were instrumental in making this program a reality."

Building for 'go,' not 'show'

"The new location of Safire Aircraft Company to Opa-locka Airport is a significant step in the right direction for the aviation sector in Miami-Dade County, and a primary focus area ever since the creation of One Community One Goal," said Nero. "Moves of this nature will help improve our county's and state's profile in this crucial industry. We were able to keep this project in South Florida and introduce them to this lucrative opportunity here in Miami-Dade County where they will qualify for Enterprise Zone and Empowerment Zone benefits."

According to Joe Cox, Safire Aircraft's Vice President of Operations and Manufacturing, planned production (by 2009) of 500 aircraft a year translates into the employment of more than 700 production workers, producing approximately two aircraft per day.

"We will incorporate the most advanced, but proven, assembly techniques, and precise just-in-time inventory control with our world-class suppliers and partners, computer-aided shop floor control, and eight-station assembly lines. From start to finish, it will take us just 16 days to assemble an airplane," said Cox. "Painting and flight tests will take an additional eight to ten days."

The announcement of the new company headquarters was delivered at a press conference held at Safire's Opa-locka Airport offices.

FMI: www.safireaircraft.com; www.beaconcouncil.com