Understand Embraer
The third major producer of civilian jets, Embraer is one of the major Brazilian exporters. Headquartered in São José dos Campos, SP, Embraer has several units in Brazil and abroad, including two joint-ventures with China and Portugal. Learn more about this Brazilian giant in the article below.
History
Established in 1969, Embraer (Brazilian Aerospace Company) was a governmental effort to implement the aviation industry in Brazil. Its origins come from ITA (Aeronautical Institute of Technology) and CTA (Department of Aerospace Science and Technology), two prestigious institutes that are the major providers of workforce for Embraer.
Due to the economic crisis of the late 80’s, Embraer nearly went out of business and was privatized in 1994, acquired by Bozano Simonsen group and by Previ and Sistel pension funds.
The restructuring of the company started with the launching of ERJ-145, which are commercial jets with capacity for 50 passengers. The next step was to launch Embraer 170/190 planes, operating in the 70 and 120 seats segment. In this segment, Embraer’s major competitor is the Canadian company Bombardier.
With more than 17 thousand employees and a net income of US$ 63 million, Embraer is now present in China, Portugal, France, Singapore and US.
Aircraft
Embraer works with commercial, executive, defense and agricultural aircraft, as follows bellow:
Commercial Aviation
This segment currently has 90 customers worldwide and about 900 regional jets from the ERJ 145 family delivered by Embraer are currently flying on five continents and operated by more than 30 airlines, such as Air Canada, JetBlue Airways, TACA, Copa Airlines and Air France, to name a few.
Here is the list of Embraer’s commercial jets:
- Embraer 195
- Embraer 190
- Embraer 175
- Embraer 170
- ERJ 145 XR
- ERJ 145
- ERJ 140
- ERJ 135
- EMB 120
Executive Jets
Embraer’s entrance in the business aviation market was announced in 2000 and was successful with the launching of Legacy 600 in 2002. The continuous investments leaded to the launch of Phenom 100, Phenom 300, Legacy 450 and Legacy 500, that along with other Embraer models, are positioned at the top of their categories.
Here is the list of Embraer’s executive jets:
- Lineage 1000
- Legacy 650
- Legacy 600
- Legacy 450
- Legacy 500
- Phenom 300
- Phenom 100
Defense and Security
Embraer’s defense aircraft provision of state-of-the-art electronics, reliability and high mission effectiveness in combination with low acquisition and operation costs have led more than 20 air forces around the world to rely on Embraer Defense Systems for surveillance, combat and training missions.
Embraer also offers solutions for training and light attack aircraft with Super Tucano and more than 100 aircraft have been produced and delivered to the Brazilian Air Force and other air forces throughout the world.
Here is the list of Embraer’s defense and security jets:
- KC-390
- Embraer 145 AEW&C
- Embraer 145 Multi Intel
- Embraer 145 MP
- Super Tucano
Agricultural Aviation
Ipanema is considered to be a market leader with 40 years of continuous production and over 1,100 units sold, representing about 75% of the nation’s fleet in this segment.
Exports
Brazil has been historically known for exporting commodities and Embraer has helped to change this image as it is an important player in the high added value exports. Besides exporting to European countries, Embraer has played an important role in the exports to China.
According to Zhou Zhiwei, from the Brazilian Research Center, a branch of the Latin American Institute (ILAS), more than 80% of the Brazilian exports to China is constituted of basic products like cereal, soy, oil and iron ore.
As an attempt to increase and improve Brazilian exports, Embraer has signed a cooperation contract with state company AVIC (Aviation Industry Corporation of China) allowing the manufacturing of the executive jets Legacy 600 and Legacy 650 in China.
Public Image
Embraer develops several different programs and social initiatives. Some of them are related to professional qualification, such as PEE - Engineering Specialization Program -, and PPE, an initiative directed to designers recently graduated.
Also, in 2009, Exame and Você S/A magazines have ranked Embraer as one of the best companies to work in Brazil.