PAUL LEWIS / GAVIAO PEIXOTO
Manufacturer hopes move by KHI to open local plant will encourage others to follow
Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) has inaugurated a new wing manufacturing plant in Brazil for the Embraer 170/190 regional aircraft programme in a move that the Brazilian manufacturer hopes will encourage other risk-sharing programme partners to follow.
Under an agreement with KHI, Embraer built the 15,600m2 (168,000ft2) factory on the site of its new production complex and test centre at Gaviao Peixoto, 300km (190 miles) north west of S‹o Paulo, which the Japanese manufacturer is now renting and equipping with jigs and tooling. The two-bay hangar initially will produce wing shipsets for the 98- to 108-seat 190/195 at the rate of up to four a month, which will then be trucked to Embraer's final assembly plant at Sao Jose dos Campos.
In May Kawasaki Aeronautica do Brasil (KAB) will start fabricating wingboxes and in mid-2004 it will transfer wing leading- and trailing-edge manufacturing and winglet assembly from Gifu in Japan to Brazil. KHI production of composite flap, aileron, spoiler, wing stub and main landing gear doors will remain in Japan for now. The first locally assembled wing for the initial Embraer 195 test aircraft is due for delivery in October, says KAB director Tsuneo Komaki.
KHI already supplies wing leading and trailing edges for the 70- to 78-seat 170/175 wing, final assembly of which remains with Embraer. KAB has been allocated adjoining space at Gaviao Peixoto for up to six more bays if required.
The Brazilian manufacturer has had to balance the push by foreign partners for greater workshare with the need for at least 50% local content. "KHI would not have got as big a package as they did, had they not established an operation in Brazil," says Luis Carlos Affonso, Embraer 170/190 programme manager.
Other partners are being encouraged to look at similar arrangements, such as fuselage barrel and empennage suppliers Latecoere and Gamesa respectively. Sonaca has already created a local entity Sobraer to produce 170 wing slats and panels, while cabin interior supplier C&D Aerospace also has a presence in Sao Jose dos Campos.
Source: Flight International
