Aerolia to construct $82-million Quebec fuselage facility
by Canadian Manufacturing Daily Staff with files from the Canadian Press
Provincial government to chip in with $15-million, according to company
Montreal—French aerospace manufacturer Aerolia has announced the construction of a new Quebec facility specifically designed for the manufacture of the centre fuselage of Bombardier’s Global 7000 and 8000 jets.
Selected by Bombardier for the project in 2011, Aerolia created its Aerolia Canada subsidiary last year, which currently employes approximately 100 engineers in its Montreal design office.
“The announcement of the construction of an assembly plant in Quebec formalizes a major, ambitious and exciting step forward,” said Aerolia SAS CEO Christian Cornille.
The Quebec government has committed to $15-million in funding towards the $82-million project in the Montreal area, according to Aerolia, a subsidiary of EADS.
$5-million from the provincial government comes as a non-refundable contribution.
Aerolia will maintain two sites in Canada, with one dedicated to engineering and the other to the “plug-&-fly” assembly of the fuselage.
This concept will allow equipped and tested fuselages to be directly delivered to Bombardier’s assembly lines.
More than 150 jobs will be created in Quebec, according to the company.
Aerolia joins a growing list of aerospace firms operating across Canada.
According to the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC), more than 400 such firms are currently operating in Canada, employing over 80,000 workers.
Since 1990, Canadian aerospace industry sales have more than doubled, reaching $23.6-billion in 2008, according to AIAC statistics.
EADS is the parent company of Airbus, the world’s largest aircraft manufacturer ahead of Boeing and Bombardier.
