Embraer on Wednesday flew the first U.S.-built Phenom 300 after the light twinjet emerged from a new factory in Melbourne, Florida. Delivery will be made to Embraer Executive Jets for use as a flight demonstrator.
Embraer said the production time for the Phenom 300 was half that of the first Phenom 100 built in Melbourne, reflecting the maturation of its production processes there. The company said it plans to build eight Phenom 300s once the U.S. factory reaches full capacity.
Embraer opened the Melbourne production facility in February 2011 and inaugurated a nearby 58,000-square-foot Global Customer Center on December 5, 2011. Last month the Brazilian company broke ground on the newest venture at its U.S. aeronautical campus, the 67,000-square-foot Embraer Engineering and Technology Center USA, which is expected to be completed in mid-2014.
“The roll out of the first made-in-the-USA Phenom 300 is another historic marker for our company,” said Ernest Edwards, President of Embraer Executive Jets. “The $50 million development of our current Melbourne facilities, coupled with equally significant investments in manufacturing elsewhere, brings to fruition our goal of becoming a major, global aviation company. The investment we have made here in the last few years, at a time when most of the industry was retrenching, reflects the company’s commitment to bringing aircraft that are a breed apart in the business aviation industry.”
