Bombardier Aerospace will invest $250 million in its facility in Queretaro, Mexico, where it plans to produce the composite fuselage for the new Learjet 85 business jet, a Bombardier spokesman said June 3. Fuselage production is to begin in two to three years.
The investment is on top of $200 million already earmarked by Bombardier for Queretaro between 2006 and 2012, the Mexico City-based spokesman said.
Zurich, Switzerland-based Grob Aerospace, one of the world's largest composite aircraft manufacturers, will produce the structure initially, under an agreement announced by Bombardier in January. Grob subsequently will pass the work on to the Bombardier plant in Mexico. The Learjet 85 is scheduled to enter service in 2012-13.
According to Bombardier Aerospace, the Learjet 85 is the first Bombardier jet to feature an all-composite structure. It also will be the first all-composite-structure business jet designed for type certification under U.S. Federal Aviation Administration air-worthiness regulations, Bombardier said in a news release.
The Queretaro site, operational since February, also will manufacture the Learjet 85's electrical harnesses and install subassembly systems.
Final assembly, including interior fittings, flight testing and customer delivery, will be handled by Bombardier's facility in Wichita, Kan., Bombardier said.
Bombardier Aerospace is a subsidiary of Montreal-based Bombardier Inc.
