Chihuahua’s aerospace industry continues to spread its wings as Embraer officially began operations at a manufacturing plant in the state capital, the Brazilian company’s first manufacturing plant in Mexico.
Governor Maru Campos presided over Monday’s inauguration ceremony at the plant in the Chihuahua Industrial Complex, joined by Embraer CEO Anderson Nascimento and Andreza Alberto, vice president of corporate communications. Chihuahua City Mayor Marco Bonilla was also present.
“My administration will continue to support [Embraer] and its goals,” Campos said. “It is my government’s belief that a competitive state, with solid institutions and favorable conditions for investment, translates into a better quality of life for the population.”
Also in attendance were: Luis Manuel Azúa, president of the Mexican Federation of the Aerospace Industry; Myrna de las Casas, director of the National Council of the Maquiladora and Export Manufacturing Industry; Christian Okada, Embraer México’s CFO; and Adolfo Viramontes, director of the Embraer México plant.
The factory will produce cabin interior components, such as overhead luggage compartments, kitchens, bathrooms and floor panels. The units will primarily be for export to markets including Brazil, the United States, France and Singapore.
“Each of these components carries a little piece of our city, the technical capacity of our people, their discipline, and that commitment to quality that distinguishes Chihuahua,” Mayor Bonilla said
Production will take place at a factory in Chihuahua City that started as a joint venture between Embraer and C&D Aerospace, now part of Safran Cabin. The factory had been producing components exclusively for Embraer’s family of aircraft since 2012.
Safran, a subsidiary of France’s Grupo Safran, is an aircraft manufacturing and servicing company that operates over 21 industrial, engineering and maintenance sites in Mexico with more than 16,000 employees.
French aerospace manufacturer Safran invests US $35M in Querétaro plant
On July 1, the Brazilian aerospace company acquired 50% of Safran’s stake in what was known as the EZ Air Interior industrial plant, becoming the majority shareholder and taking control of 100% of the complex. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The “new” Embraer factory is the only manufacturer in the country that produces all the components of civil aircraft cabins.
Embraer now employs 1,100 direct people in Chihuahua, and the workforce is expected to expand gradually as the conglomerate’s investment and development plans in the state evolve.
The state of Chihuahua is the national leader in the aerospace industry, concentrating a gross production of nearly 17 billion pesos (US $984 million), roughly 36% of the national total, in addition to registering exports of more than US $2 billion last year.
With reports from Reporte Indigo, Puente Libre and Excelsior
