Embraer Opens Aircraft Seat-building Plant in Florida

Embraer opened its new 50,000-sq-ft aircraft seat-manufacturing plant in Titusville, Florida, yesterday. The Embraer Aero Seating Technologies facility will focus on manufacturing all seating for Embraer's Phenom light jets and first-class seating for the new E-190E2 airliner.

The facility is expected to create 150 new jobs by 2020. Embraer already employs more than 1,000 people throughout Florida, mostly at its Melbourne complex, where it assembles Phenom 100s and 300s and Legacy 450s and 500s, and maintains design, engineering and customer centers.

“Having spent nearly 50 years designing and developing aircraft for various markets, Embraer recognizes the distinct importance of the aircraft seat—the ultimate customer touch point. That’s why we made the strategic decision to bring this expertise in-house,” Embraer CEO Paulo Cesar de Souza e Silva said. He told AIN that the company is considering in-sourcing more of its business jet interior components going forward.

Embraer initially acquired a minority stake in Irwindale, California-based Aero Seating Technologies in 2011 and bought the company outright last year, when it also announced plans for the new seat-manufacturing facility in Florida.