EMPRESA BRASILEIRA DE AERONAUTICA SA
Created 19 August 1969, Embraer operating on 2 January 1970. Its 250,000 m2 (2,691,000 sq ft) factory at Faria Lima was officially joined on 15 January 2001 by the Eugenio de Mello plant, comprising 147,650 m2 (1,589,300 sq ft) of covered space. Both facilities are near Sao Jose dos Campos. Fifth company plant, at Gaviao Peixoto (300 km; 186 miles northwest of Sao Paulo) opened 11 June 2002; to expand over five years to 3,000,000 m2 (32 million sq ft) and undertake final assembly of Legacy, Super Tucano, AMX-T and special missions versions of EMB-145.
Total Embraer workforce was 11,876 on 30 June 2002. Neiva became a subsidiary in March 1980. Embraer and subsidiaries have delivered nearly 5,500 aircraft.
Privatisation of Embraer was undertaken on 7 December 1994 with the auction of 55.4 per cent of voting stock. A consortium, led by Bozano Simonsen bank, acquired 45.44 per cent of auctioned stock, assumed a controlling interest in the company, and provided an extra US$36 million in capitalisation. A further 10 per cent of voting stock was offered to the public within 60 days, with Embraer employees and the Brazilian government retaining 10 and 18.4 per cent respectively. In October 1999 a consortium of French aerospace companies, comprising Aerospatiale Matra (now EADS France), Dassault, SNECMA and Thomson-CSF (now Thales), acquired 20 per cent of Embraer's voting shares. Embraer also embarked on a joint venture with Liebherr International of Germany to establish Embraer-Liebherr Equipamentos do Brasil SA (ELEB) to create additional opportunities for the company's landing gear and hydraulics components business. Embraer's controlling group - with 60 per cent of voting shares - comprises pension funds Previ and Sistel, plus investment house Companhia Bozano Simonsen.
Principal current own-design manufacturing programmes are EMB-120 Brasilia commuter transport, ERJ-135/ERJ-140/ERJ-145 and ERJ-170/190 regional jet families and EMB-312/EMB-314 Tucano turboprop military trainer. Subsidiary Neiva manufactures EMB-202 Ipanema agricultural aircraft and holds licences from New Piper in USA. Main production of International (with Italy) AMX attack fighter is complete, but Embraer holds outstanding contract for Venezuelan order.
In subcontract field, first deliveries made in 1994 of wingtips and vertical fin fairings for Boeing 777 under 1991 contract.
Embraer ia a risk-sharing partner in the Sikorsky S-92 Helibus programme; under a June 1995 contract valued at US$170 million, it will supply 730 sets of S-92 fuel sponsons. In 1995 Embraer signed a co-operation agreement with PZL Warszawa-Okecie of Poland under which Embraer subsidiary Neiva SA would market PZL light aircraft in Brazil and PZL subsidiary Skypol would acquire Brasilias for its freight and charter services. This appears to have lapsed.
On 3 April 2002 Embraer, Dassault Aviation, SNECMA Moteurs and Thales Airborne Systems formed the Mirage 2000BR Consortium to develop a version of the Dassault Mirage 2000-5 Mk 2 as a contender for the Brazilian Air Force's F-X BR programme. If selected, FAB Mirage 2000BRs would be assembled at a new Embraer facility at Gaviao Peixoto.
On 2 December 2002 Embraer signed an agreement with Harbin Aircraft Industry (Group) Co Ltd and Hafei Aviation Industry Co Ltd to form a new joint venture company, Harbin Embraer Aircraft Company Ltd, which will produce under licence the ERJ-135, ERJ-140 and ERJ-145, primarily for customers in the People's Republic of China. A 24,000 m2 (847,550 sq ft) facility is to be established in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, employing up to 220 staff. Delivery of the first Harbin Embraer-built aircraft was scheduled for December 2002.
Embraer delivered 177 aircarft (45 ERJ-135, 112 ERJ-145s, three EMB-135s and 17 lightplanes) in 2000, 174 aircraft (two EMB-120s, 27 ERJ-135s, 22 ERJ-140s, 104 ERJ-145, seven EMB-135, one EMB-145 and 11 light aircraft) in 2001. Firm order backlog 131 aircraft (one EMB-135/145, three ERJ-135s, 36 ERJ-140s, 82 ERJ-145s and nine Lagacys) in 2002. Planned target for 2003 is 110 deliveries, rising to 160 in 2004. Firm order backlog valued at US$22.2 billion at 31 December 2002, comprising 374 regional jets and 58 Legacys.
