Embraer

From Free net encyclopedia

Embraer, the Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica S.A. is a Brazilian leading aircraft manufacturer. The company produces commercial, military, and corporate airplanes. It was Brazil's largest exporter from 1999 to 2001 and is one of the three main exporters in Brazil. It is the fourth largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, behind the two giants Boeing and Airbus, and Canadian competitor Bombardier.

The company is headquartered in São José dos Campos, São Paulo state and has its main and largest production facilities and engineering/design offices there. Embraer also has a production plant in Gavião Peixoto, São Paulo state, where major components are manufactured and flight testing is done. This facility's runway is the longest in Latin America.

Embraer has maintenance and commercial sites in the USA and commercial offices in France, Portugal, Singapore and China.

As of March 31, 2005, Embraer has a total workforce of 16,409 people, including the employees of recently-acquired OGMA in Portugal, and a firm order backlog totalling US$9.9 billion.

On May 3, 2005, the company announced its plans to introduce two new aircraft models, dubbed Phenom 100 and 300, in the business aviation market. The aircraft will expand Embraer's portfolio, complementing the super mid-size Legacy 600 in the Very Light and Light segments.

1 Foundation and privatization
2 Shareholders
3 Subsidiaries and joint ventures
4 Aircraft
5 External links

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Foundation and privatization

Embraer was founded on August 19, 1969 by the Brazilian government and fomented within the Brazilian General Command for Aerospace Technology (CTA). Many of its pioneering engineers, including the first president of the company Ozires Silva, hail from the Aeronautics Technological Institute, the engineering university college maintained by the Brazilian Air Force. Embraer was privatized on December 7, 1994.

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Shareholders

Originally Embraer was 51% controlled by the Brazilian government, the remainder held by private investors. Since the company was privatized in 1994, Embraer has been controlled by three Brazilian investment groups (Previ and Sistel pension funds and Banco Bozzano Simonsen), with each holding 20% of the voting capital. Another 20% was acquired in 1999 as part of a strategic partnership to develop advanced military aircraft by a European consortium (EADS, Dassault Aviation and Thales Group hold 5.67% each, and SNECMA holds 2.99%). The remainder is publicly traded.

The Brazilian government remains involved through the possession of a golden share in the company, which allows it to veto certain deals regarding military aircraft sales and technology transfers to foreign countries.

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Subsidiaries and joint ventures

Embraer has a subsidiary called Indústria Aeronáutica Neiva in Botucatu, São Paulo, which manufactures light and crop duster airplanes, and two joint ventures:

ELEB, in São José dos Campos, São Paulo, which manufactures landing gear and hydraulic systems.
Harbin Embraer Aircraft Industry (HEAI), in Harbin, China, which produces the ERJ 145 family of airplanes for the Chinese market.

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