Triumph Aerostructures will open a new facility in Red Oak, Texas to support wing fabrication for Bombardier's large-cabin ultra-long range Global 7000 and 8000 business aircraft, according to an internal message to employees.

"We have signed a letter of intent to build a new production facility in Red Oak, Texas, to support the Bombardier wing programme," said a note to employees at Trumph's Jefferson Street Facility (JSF) in Dallas, operated by Vought Integrated Programs Division.

Triumph declined to comment on the placement of the Bombardier work, but did confirm a letter of intent has been signed for the Red Oak property.

The work on the new jet's wing was allocated by Bombardier in May to Vought Integrated Programs Division, now a wholly owned subsidiary of the Triumph Group.

"As we began to look at the physical requirements for such a project and the cash outlay required for renovating one of our existing buildings, it became apparent that we needed to consider other locations outside of the Jefferson Street Facility," said JSF general manager Bubba Long, who authored the message to employees.

"As we began talking to property owners, we found that we were in a position to negotiate extremely good conditions for a long-term lease - ultimately saving us several million dollars on the project and thereby improving our margins, which many of you know are historically very thin," said Long.

"We are disappointed that the programme couldn't be located at JSF. We worked several scenarios trying to get the numbers to work, but in the end, the cost savings far outweighed any other reason for keeping it at Jefferson Street," he added.

According to the Ellis County Press newspaper in Red Oak, the facility will eventually employ 265 within five years covering 22,300m2 (240,000ft2), with initial construction to begin later this year.

Triumph also declined to comment on whether or not the workforce at the new facility would fall under representation of the labour unions that represent workers at the JSF, calling such considerations "premature."

The note added that development and pre-production for the Global 7000 and 8000 would continue for "the next several months" followed by initial wing deliveries in mid-2013.

First deliveries of the new Global 7000 and 8000 are expected in 2016 and 2017, respectively.

Source: Flight International