Today, Embraer began construction of a major addition to its Melbourne Airport, Florida campus-a 236,000-square-foot assembly complex for its Legacy 450 and 500 aircraft. It will consist of four new buildings: an assembly hangar, paint facility, completion center and delivery center. The new construction, expected to be completed in 2016, will more than double the size of the Embraer Melbourne campus, which dates back to 2008. Embraer announced that it expects to hire some 600 new employees over four years as construction is completed, bringing total employment to more than 1000 people. The Legacy 450 is a fly-by-wire, mid-light jet, designed to fly 2500 nm with four aboard, and is in flight test toward certification. The first Legacy 500 a mid-size bizjet was just delivered-it can carry as many as eight passengers and has a range of over 3000 nm with four passengers aboard.
In September, Embraer opened its new engineering and technology center at its Melbourne facility-its first engineering center outside of Brazil, signifying a major investment in North American operations. Research and development into new products and technology in the three business areas of Embraer-commercial, executive and defense aircraft-is being carried out in what has been described as a state-of-the art facility. The engineering center and upcoming assembly complex are continuing evidence that Embraer has become a serious player in the global aviation market. Politicians from all levels of government in Florida flocked to and spoke at the assembly facility ground-breaking. At least one speaker uttered the “game changer” clich. Out of consideration for what may have simply been an excess of exuberance, AVweb is not identifying the speaker.
