Bombardier just inked a deal to acquire the wing manufacturing operations and assets of the Triumph Group Inc. a company that has been building the wing structure for the Global 7500. Montreal-based Bombardier will enter into a lease agreement for Triumph’s facility in Red Oak, Texas, and continue to operate the production line with the employees currently working on the program. The wing-making operations will be incorporated into Bombardier’s aerostructures and engineering services segment.
In 2016, Triumph filed a $340-million lawsuit against Bombardier, alleging the company had failed to pay Triumph what it owed for work on the business jet, then known as the Global 7000. Bombardier denied the allegations and both parties settled out of court in May 2017. Bombardier spokesman Mark Masluch said the Canadian aircraft builder will take on about 500 full-time employees from Triumph and give work to some 200 contractors now working for the Pennsylvania-based company. “We have wing production expertise. So it made sense,” Masluch said. Following a nominal cash consideration, the acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019.
Bombardier predicts $8.5 billion in annual revenues by 2020, driven largely by Global 7500 sales, a major bump from $5 billion in 2017. The Global 7500, which entered into service in December, is on track for between 15 and 20 deliveries this year, and between 35 and 40 in 2020, Bombardier said. The business jet backlog now totals about $14.3 billion, Masluch said.
