Embraer is considering Melbourne, Florida, as a possible location for a future US assembly line for the C-390 Millennium military transport, an executive has revealed.
Alvadi Serpa Junior, Embraer's vice president of Market and Product Strategy, discussed the possibility during a September 24 presentation to the Greater Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce.
Serpa showed a map of Embraer's existing complex at Melbourne Orlando International Airport that identified adjacent land for future development.
“We will likely have a factory here in the United States,” Serpa said. He estimated the investment at around US$500 million and added that it “could come to Melbourne.”
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The comments provide a possible location for an investment Embraer had already discussed earlier this year. The Brazilian manufacturer has said it could establish a US production line for the C-390 if it secures a significant order from the US government.
Melbourne, however, has not been selected. Embraer told Florida Today after Serpa's presentation that a US factory would be subject to a nationwide site-selection process if the project moves ahead.
Existing Embraer manufacturing site
Melbourne would give the C-390 program access to an established Embraer industrial operation rather than requiring the company to establish its first manufacturing presence in the country.
Embraer opened its first US aircraft assembly plant at Melbourne in 2011. The Florida site assembles Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 business jets and has expanded over the years to include other activities, including engineering and aircraft completion work.
Serpa's comments also come as Embraer continues to expand the Melbourne campus. The local airport authority recently approved an agreement covering additional land for a new warehouse and related facilities, although that project is separate from the potential C-390 factory.
The military transport is currently assembled at Embraer's Gavião Peixoto plant in Brazil. A second production line in the United States would depend on demand large enough to justify a dedicated industrial operation.
US campaign includes Northrop Grumman
Embraer has increased its efforts to sell the C-390 in the United States this year. In February, the company announced a partnership with Northrop Grumman to pursue US opportunities for the aircraft.
The companies also plan to develop an autonomous aerial refueling boom for a tanker version of the C-390, expanding its capabilities beyond the hose-and-drogue refueling system currently offered on the KC-390.
That agreement was announced in Melbourne, where Northrop Grumman also has a significant presence.
At the time, Embraer said a sufficiently large US order could support more than US$500 million in investment and approximately 1,200 jobs associated with domestic production.
The C-390 has so far been ordered or selected by more than a dozen countries, but the US military has not placed an order for the aircraft.
