The Nordam Group has broken new ground in Brazil. In July, the Tulsa, Okla. aerospace products company celebrated the opening of a new cabinetry shop in São José dos Campos as a joint venture with Rio de Janeiro cabin completion specialist Jet Star Aeronautic Interiors.

The 20,000-sq-ft facility will allow Nordam to support its existing cabinetry program for the Embraer Legacy 600. Nordam has been building Legacy 600 cabinetry at its Tulsa plant and shipping the components to Brazil for Embraer to install. “Working with Embraer on the Legacy 600 interiors, it makes a lot of sense to be in Brazil,” said Gary Ball, v-p and general manager of Nordam interiors and structures.

According to Nordam, while the new shop will focus initially on Legacy 600 cabinetry, it is keeping an eye on Embraer’s plans to expand its executive jets division. “Several of Embraer’s new aircraft, such as the Lineage 1000 and the Phenom 100 and 300, are programs [being targeted] as potential growth opportunities,” said Ball. (See “Embraer no longer a one-trick pony”).