Embraer on Dec. 5 opened its new, 150,000-square-foot, $50 million customer center at the Melbourne International Airport in Melbourne, Fla. The facility will be the location for customers for the entire range of Embraer jets to select the colors, fabrics, paint schemes and other options for their aircraft. In February 2011, Embraer held the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the first phase of construction, which includes an 80,000 square foot production and painting facility.
The two-story facility includes a 17,112 square foot delivery hangar, five design studios, and suites for customer use. Software running on large flat-screen monitors will let customers have virtual tours of the proposed design of their airplanes. Embraer says that the Melbourne site will be the new global headquarters for Embraer’s Executive Jets Division.
On hand for the festivities were Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Melbourne Mayor Harry Goode, and Robert Taylor, CEO of fractional operator Executive AirShare. Taylor was presented with a Phenom 100—the first such airplane built in the United States. “Upon delivery of this aircraft, our fleet will grow to 18 Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 airplanes serving the central U.S. and Great Lakes regions,” Taylor said.
