With a new 150,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility in Melbourne, Fla., Embraer is creating a final assembly line, the first for Embraer in the U.S., capable of producing both the Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 executive jet models. Announced with Melbourne Mayor and Florida Governor Charlie Crist, the new $50 million facility will include a paint shop and a delivery and customer design center. The announcement comes in the wake of Bombardier’s consideration of CSeries production in the U.S., which, with the value of the dollar, is now a low cost production environment.
After a rigorous and thorough site selection process, the preferred location for the project is Melbourne International Airport, in Melbourne, Florida, which best satisfies all applicable operational requirements and strategies, said the company, which signed a Memorandum of Intent with a final decision is predicated on approval by the State and local governments.
Embraer expects to create approximately 200 skilled positions by 2011 for aircraft assembly, production planning, logistics and quality, aircraft interior design, corporate administration, engineering, and aircraft painting, delivery, and flight testing functions.