New Zealand aircraft manufacturer Pacific Aerospace (PAC) has established a joint venture with Canadian company Mecachrome that will see assembly of PAC's utility aircraft in Montreal, Canada.
PAC will continue to manufacture its 750XL utility aircraft at its Hamilton, New Zealand base, which will also remain responsible for development work. Partly assembled aircraft will be shipped to Canada for completion.
The move follows recent US Federal Aviation Administration certification of the 750XL and growing international interest in the aircraft. "The ability to ship container loads of knocked down or incomplete aircraft to our Canadian partner will ultimately save millions of dollars in freight costs, insurance and other charges associated with ferrying aircraft to the world's largest market," says PAC managing director Brian Hare. The deal is expected to save PAC up to NZ$100,000 ($66,000) an aircraft in insurance costs alone.
Mecachrome, which specialises in precision machining of aeronautical parts, is projected to assemble 12 partially completed aircraft next year, 24 in 2006 and 36 in 2007. A similar number of completed aircraft is expected to roll off the Hamilton line.
Source: Flight International
