With Embraer’s regional jet division slated to become Boeing Commercial Brasil by year-end, Embraer has announced the construction of $30 million in new facilities in the São José dos Campos suburb of Eugênio de Melo. That area already houses much of Embraer’s engineering staff and is where the ground-test “iron birds” are constructed for new aircraft, but those physical buildings will eventually also be occupied by Boeing Brasil.
Separating what facilities Boeing gets from what Embraer keeps in the Boeing Brasil deal is complicated, though the two companies can buy and sell parts both companies need where capacity isn’t duplicated. Eugenio de Melo will house engineers for both firms. The expansion will raise the site’s capacity from 1,500 employees to more than 4,000, and its size from 754,000 sq ft/70,000 sq m to 1.2 million sq ft/110,000 sq m. Additionally, it will include four new buildings and upgrades to existing facilities.
Slated to move to the new facility, freeing up space for Boeing in its complex adjoining the SJC runway, are Embraer’s customer service and training, including flight simulators, administrative areas, and the company’s history center. The new facility will also include “Embraer’s defense and security, air mobility, aerospace, and other technology-based businesses”—in other words, areas that aren’t being sold to Boeing.