Embraer Opens Seat-Manufacturing Facility in Florida

Embraer introduced the latest example of its growth in the United States, cutting the ribbon Monday at a new 50,000-square-foot seat-manufacturing facility in Titusville, Florida.

The Embraer Aero Seating Technologies facility marks the Brazilian business jet maker's first foray into the manufacturing of aircraft seating, which Embraer says will help better serve its customers and put it ahead of competitors in the U.S. market.

“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, said Embraer president and CEO Paulo Cesar de Souza e Silva.

Embraer last year acquired Irwindale, California-based Aero Seating Technologies, which produced custom aircraft seating and already made the seats in Embraer’s Lineage jets. The company plans to incorporate manufacturing of seats for its business jets and those for the first-class cabin of its E-Jets E2 jet airliner family into the new EAST facility.

The $3.5 million seating plant, minutes away from Kennedy Space Center, is Embraer’s fourth expansion project on Florida’s Space Coast. The area is home to engineering, design, sales and administrative offices as well as a production facility for its Phenom and Legacy executive jets. EAST, set to begin production in November, will add about 150 jobs in the area. Local leaders praised the company for stimulating an economy hit hard by cuts in the space industry.

Cesar de Souza e Silva said the manufacturer’s rapid growth in the United States stems from the need to be closer to its largest client base.

“Our plans are to continue to grow here,” he said.

Embraer, which began U.S. operations in Melbourne, Florida, in 2008, has delivered more than 8,000 aircraft since it was founded in 1969.