New manufacturing facility will be home of Legacy 450 and 500 planes

MELBOURNE, Fla. – Today, Governor Rick Scott celebrated the groundbreaking of Embraer’s new assembly facility at Melbourne International Airport. The company’s Legacy 450 and 500 planes will be manufactured at the expanded site. Embraer will add 600 jobs and a capital investment of $15 million in the region.

Governor Scott said, “Embraer’s creation of 600 jobs is great news for Melbourne families and the surrounding community. With the creation of 643,100 jobs since December 2010, it’s important that we remain focused on continuing Florida’s economic momentum. By removing the sales tax on manufacturing equipment, Florida’s businesses, like Embraer, will have a more competitive advantage over other states and countries, which will help businesses create more jobs for families.”

The Legacy 500 is a best-in-class midsize executive jet with a six-foot flat-floor cabin. Eight club seats may be berthed into four beds for complete rest in a cabin altitude at 6,000 feet, with the latest in-flight entertainment, communications and connectivity systems. The Legacy 450 shares the same cabin cross-section as the Legacy 500, and allows four club seats to be berthed into two beds. Embraer’s presence in Florida has expanded greatly in the last two years. Last month, Embraer opened its Engineering and Technology Center in Melbourne.

“With the support of Governor Scott together with his team at Enterprise Florida, the Space Coast Economic Development Commission, Brevard County, the City of Melbourne, and the Melbourne Airport Authority, we are doubling the size of our Executive Jets campus in the US with the addition of these game changing aircraft assembly facilities to the already operational Phenom assembly line,” said Embraer President and Chief Executive Officer Frederico Fleury Curado. “Furthermore, our recently inaugurated Embraer Engineering and Technology Center, the first engineering center outside Brazil, shows the strong level of commitment to our customers as well as our faith in this remarkable community.”

"Surpassing all original expectations during certification tests, the clean sheet design Legacy 500 and Legacy 450 represent a new, game changing generation of business aircraft" said Marco Tulio Pellegrini, President & CEO, Embraer Executive Jets. “With this state-of-art facility at the heart of an important aeronautical center in the region and the engagement of all stakeholders, we are very confident in the future of these programs.”

Florida is home to more than 2,000 aerospace and aviation companies employing more than 87,000 workers statewide. Florida is the undisputed air traffic hub of the Western Hemisphere; a major hub for flight training; a leader in maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) operations; and home to leading manufacturers of all types of aircraft and components. Florida’s manufacturing sector has nearly 18,200 companies that employ more than 317,000 Floridians.

Secretary of Commerce and president & CEO of Enterprise Florida, Inc., Gray Swoope attended the event and spoke about Embraer’s impact on the state. “I want to thank Embraer for their continued investment in Florida. This expansion is a testament to the state's business climate and location as a global leader in aviation. This highly sought expansion is especially important as it will create additional opportunities for suppliers in the aerospace and aviation industry. We look forward to Embraer’s continued growth.”

This project was made possible with the help of close partnerships between Enterprise Florida, the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity, the Economic Development Council of Florida’s Space Coast, Brevard County and the Melbourne International Airport.

“Brevard County has long had an environment conducive to business growth, and to bolster that, we have a workforce that consists of highly technical, skilled individuals.” said Senator Thad Altman, Florida State Senate District 16. “We have successfully been able to market our pro-business climate and talent as assets to not only attract a world-class company like Embraer, but to foster even more growth. This is a testament to the level of ingenuity that exists in our community.”

Florida Department of Economic Opportunity Director Jesse Panuccio said, “Today’s groundbreaking is part of Embraer’s growing footprint in Florida. This manufacturing facility will create good jobs for families in Brevard County. The project is another win for Florida’s economic development efforts and shows that our state offers the perfect business climate for the aerospace and manufacturing sectors.”

“The Legacy assembly facility is the kind of coveted project every city hopes to land. Embraer is the high caliber corporate partner every city hopes will call their city home,” said City of Melbourne mayor Kathy Meehan. “Our city is proud to be home to Embraer and we congratulate them on their continued growth here.”

“While it was a community team that helped bring Embraer to the Space Coast six years ago, it is our people who have helped keep them here,” said Mary Bolin Lewis, District 4 commissioner and chairman of the Brevard County Board of County Commissioners. ”How fitting that many years later, we are once again welcoming Embraer to the community. Instead of welcoming them for the first time, we are welcoming them back home. The third time is just as exciting as the first.”

“Today’s major milestone takes us full circle, back to 2008, when ground was broken on Embraer’s first facility in Brevard. In six short years, Embraer has developed a footprint in our community that has significantly strengthened our standing as an aviation hub,” said Lynda Weatherman, president and chief executive officer, Economic Development Commission of Florida’s Space Coast. “This is a true economic development success story, one that has paved the way for growth in one of our community’s most important sectors.”

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Embraer North America, located in Florida, supports sales, marketing and after sales support for North America’s commercial, defense and business markets. Other U.S. facilities include the Embraer Executive Jets Service Centers as well as a MRO facility, Embraer Aircraft Maintenance Services, to support the commercial jet market. Embraer’s corporate headquarters, located in Brazil, is the world’s largest manufacturers’ of commercial jets up to 120 seats and one of Brazil’s leading exporters.

Enterprise Florida, Inc. (EFI) is a partnership between Florida’s businesses and government leaders and is the principal economic development organization for the state of Florida.  EFI facilitates job growth for Florida businesses through recruitment and retention, international trade and exporting, promotion of sporting events, and capital funding programs to assist small and minority businesses.

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