Chinese Company Gains Work On New Airliner Program
Bombardier Aerospace signed a
contract this week in Farnborough with the Shenyang Aircraft
Corporation (SAC), a subsidiary of the state-owned aviation
industrial entity China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC I), to
supply the center fuselage on the
newly-launched Bombardier CSeries.
"AVIC I signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Bombardier
in April 2007. AVIC I attaches great importance to and supports the
CSeries project and is willing to participate in this project as a
risk-sharing supplier," said Wang Yawei, Vice President, Commercial
Airplane, AVIC I. "Two days ago, Bombardier officially announced
the launch of the CSeries program. Today, we are here signing the
contract in which AVIC I/SAC will take part in the design,
manufacture, assembly and relevant testing as well as after market
support of four major work packages for the CSeries aircraft. I am
confident that the cooperation between AVIC I and Bombardier will
further promote the development of the commercial aircraft business
of our two companies and contribute to the development of the
global aviation industry."
"Shenyang has a long and proud history as an industrial base in
China, and we place aerospace as one of our key priorities," said
Wang Ying, Vice Mayor of Shenyang Municipality. "The goal of the
Shenyang National Aviation and High-Tech Industrial Base -- our
industrial hub dedicated to the high-tech aerospace sector -- is to
be China's largest single site for final assembly of regional jets,
business jets, light aircraft and jet engines. On the occasion of
this announcement between Bombardier Aerospace and AVIC I, we are
pleased to offer our support to AVIC I as it invests in a new
facility in Shenyang for its subsidiary company SAC."
Bombardier says the contract is an integral part of a
longstanding relationship between AVIC I and Bombardier Aerospace.
Back in June 2007, the two companies announced a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) for a long-term strategic cooperation in the
90- to 149-seat commercial aircraft market. Both parties expect the
outcome of this collaboration to result in mutually beneficial cost
reductions and increased production efficiencies for their
respective aircraft programs.
In July 2006, Bombardier entered an agreement that stipulated
SAC would manufacture certain structural aircraft components for
the Q400 aircraft that were previously sourced from Mitsubishi
Heavy Industry (MHI) in Japan.
"This is good news for everyone involved. Our Bombardier CSeries
aircraft is a true game changer and, with the signing of this
contract with SAC, we now have a major supplier for the aircraft's
center fuselage," said Guy C. Hachey, President and Chief Operating
Officer, Bombardier Aerospace. "Featuring the latest in system
technologies and aerodynamics, the five-abreast CSeries aircraft
family is specifically designed to meet the growing needs of the
100- to 149-seat mainline commercial airliner market, which is
estimated at 6,300 aircraft over the next 20 years. We expect to be
able to capture up to half of this market."
For the SAC project, financial, technological and human
resources are being deployed from both parties. Currently, 25
employees from China are working at Bombardier's Montreal
facilities.
Bombardier employs approximately 3,000 employees in China,
participates in three manufacturing joint ventures (JV), has four
whole foreign-owned enterprises (WFOE), and four administration
offices in transportation; aircraft field service representatives;
a parts depot in Beijing and sales representation for business and
regional aircraft. Seven commercial airlines and government
agencies in Greater China (including Taiwan) operate a total of 46
Bombardier regional aircraft as of January 2007.
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