by Fred Seely
Editorial Director
Jacksonville got an assurance Wednesday that a high-flying company — literally and figuratively — is going to be soaring here for years to come.
Embraer Air, the Brazilian airplane-building company which is opening a plant at Cecil Commerce Center that will be producing airplanes by 2006, is “here for the long term. We will stay and we will grow,” said Mauricio Bothelo, its president and chief executive officer. “Jacksonville has been good to us. America has been good to us. We will grow with you.”
Bothelo spoke at the Adam’s Mark to about 600 who attended the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce’s final quarterly Cornerstone luncheon of the year.
Bothelo reviewed the origins of the company and its progress in building mid-size jet airplanes that are sold for both civilian and military purposes.
He emphasized Embraer’s worldwide marking, saying “No one survives in this business looking at their frontier. You must look global.”
And global they are with a presence in 58 nations and plants on five continents.
Once strictly a Brazilian company — they were the nation’s leading exporter in 1999, 200 and 2001, and second last year — Embraer’s move into other nations is a response to what Bothelo called “global competition.”
“The marketplace is difficult because nations are subsidizing our competitors,” he said, referring to the European Community’s support of Airbus and the United States support of Boeing.
Prior to Bothelo’s speech, the Chamber’s International division presented its annual awards.
• The Small Business Exporter of the Year went to the Putnam Export & Lumber Co.
• The Trade Service Provider of the Year went to TNT Logistics of North America,
• The International Trader of the Year went to Nationwide Equipment Co.