With its latest investment in Singapore, the company hopes to enhance its regional customer support services as well as increase its market share.
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Singapore's flourishing aerospace industry welcomes its latest addition to the already diverse and vibrant business landscape - EMBRAER. The Brazilian commercial jet manufacturer, the world’s largest manufacturer of commercial jets of up to 120 seats, recently announced its plans to invest S$61.2 million (US$40 million) to strengthen its presence here in Asia-Pacific through its spare parts logistics centre.
SERVICING THE REGION
The spare parts logistics centre is expected to boost EMBRAER's spare parts distribution capabilities as well as support services for its regional customers. EMBRAER will be partnering Menlo Worldwide - a global provider of logistics, transportation management and supply chain services - to manage and deliver warehousing and inventory management distribution services from its base at the state-of-the-art facility located at Changi Airport's Free Trade Zone.
"EMBRAER is a world-class manufacturer and a recognised force in the aircraft industry. We're very pleased and proud to join EMBRAER in the strategic launch of its commercial aircraft line in Asia and the ongoing support of its customers," says Robert L. Bianco, Jr., President, Menlo Worldwide.
All these activities will be managed by Embraer Asia Pacific Pte Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary under EMBRAER. The Singapore HQ will also be responsible for the organisation's marketing and sales efforts for new aircraft in the region, with the staff count doubling to more than 40 by this year to support the organisation's regional growth plans.
"Asia is an extremely important region for EMBRAER. Recent sales have demonstrated that the market here is well suited to our products and we want to make sure that our new customers in the region can benefit from the best possible support services," says Frederico Fleury Curado, President and CEO, EMBRAER.
In addition, the company is currently in negotiations with a world-class training provider based in Singapore to launch its E-Jets Level D Full Flight Simulator. The cutting edge flight simulator will begin operations in June 2007 while the Technical and Flight Attendant training programme is scheduled to commence in 2008.
"We are delighted that EMBRAER has chosen Singapore as its hub for customer support, simulator training and distribution activities for the Asia-Pacific market. This is the first significant investment in our aerospace industry from Brazil, and will add diversity to our vibrant aerospace industry cluster," says Ko Kheng Hwa, Managing Director, Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB). "It also reaffirms our industrial strengths in supply chain efficiency and aerospace maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), and gives a strong boost to our effort to develop Singapore into a premier aviation training hub in Asia."
SUSTAINED GROWTH
EMBRAER's latest investment will certainly be a boost to the aerospace industry, regarded as one of the fastest growing industries in Singapore. The industry posted sterling results last year when it reached growth rates of 19.7 per cent and contributed S$6.3 billion (US$4.1 billion) in output.
Furthermore, EMBRAER would be joining other established aerospace players in strengthening its presence in Singapore and furthering its reach in the region with its latest investment. Rolls-Royce, for one, has continued to strengthen its excellent business relationship with the Republic by basing its full suite of services, ranging from MRO, sales and marketing, warehousing, headquarters function and R&D, locally. Similarly, Norelco UMS also recently started on the construction of its S$30.7 million (US$20 million) aerospace manufacturing plant based in Changi.
Taken in entirety, EMBRAER's latest investment is just one of many exciting and lucrative business tie-ups in the flourishing local aerospace industry. However, with this investment, the city-state is issuing a statement of intent. Instead of resting on its laurels, the nation and EDB will continue to scour the world for more of such partnerships to bring the industry to its next level of excellence.
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