Flight International online news 09:30GMT: Bombardier Aerospace today detailed plans to open a new facility in Queretaro, Mexico that could eventually be used as a final assembly plant.
The Canadian manufacturer says it will invest $200 million in the venture over the next seven years. The project will start in May.
Bombardier says it will initially use the plant to manufacture and assemble wire harnesses for its corporate and regional aircraft. This will be expanded sometime in 2006 to include “major structural components” currently built by unspecified Bombardier suppliers.
By the end of 2006, employment at the Queretaro facility is expected to reach 300 skilled and trained workers and increase to 600 by the end of 2007, the company says.
The manufacturer also says that, consistent with a long-term investment, it will ensure the new facility will be capable of final aircraft assembly “as new markets emerge”.
“The implementation of this capability will be carried out in parallel to the Mexican federal Government’s establishment of the essential pillars to develop a substantive aerospace industry. These pillars include the harmonization of Mexican aviation regulations with the international community, adequate aerospace education systems and suitable government programs catering to the support of aerospace research and development, among others,” Bombardier says in a statement.
Bombardier says it will also develop a local supplier base to support its Mexican operations.
DARREN SHANNON/WASHINGTON
Source: Flight International
